Silent Birdie
by YourMoosyFate
Summary: AU ALL HUMAN. Max's dad died and her mom, who is not Dr. M, married an abusive jerk. Max stops speaking. After two years a boy, Fang of course, comes to save Max. Can Mr. Quiet get Max to start talking again?
1. After Two Years

**(A/N) Hey guys, I've decided to start a new Fanfic. I know it's kinda dark and I'm sorry. When I started it I wasn't in the best mood. I was kinda depressed. Besides, I wanted to write something a little more serious that EMOtional. Don't freak out though, I'm still going to write on EMOtional.**

**I know everyone's kinda OOC, but it's my story and I wanted it to happen this way. I'm not sure if I'm gonna have Iggy, Gazzy, or Nudge yet. Probably, but I have to figure out how to incorporate them. Again, sorry if it's depressing/dark...it's just how I was feeling. It'll probably get better, you can't keep Max down for long. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Maximum Ride books (wow, that was unoriginal...)**

**ON WITH THE STORY**

**Max POV**

"NO!" Camy shrieked. Tears were gliding down her cheeks. She cried out again, in pure agony. "Stop." She sobbed.

My heart was breaking. I knew that she was in more pain than she'd ever been before. She never broke down like this. She never failed to triumph. I could see her fading fast. She opened her mouth and screamed a string of profanities.

I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't watch her suffer. It was too much. I shoved myself between her and the bat, as if to say "Let her go. Me instead". Walter stopped the bat in mid-air. I knew what this meant. My pain would be six times what hers had been. For once, the amount of pain I was going to endure didn't matter nearly as much. Camy would be safe.

Abruptly Camy's screams halted. Walter stepped back, a grim smile on his face. He tried to look as if this "punishment" was hurting him, but I could see the sick glee in his eyes. I could see his hands shaking in ecstasy. My stomach rolled. Camy slouched onto the floor, slipping into unconsciousness, and I stepped up to the ballet bar in her place.

Mom bought the ballet studio before dad died. Back when she was moderately sane. Back before she married Walter. She slipped in and out of moods faster than the men she 'secretly' dated slipped in and out of the condoms that they wore (probably the alcohol that Walter kept buying for her). Ella, Angel, and I had been dancing since we were old enough to join a class, and mom had bought the studio as an extra place for us to practice. Camy was Walter's daughter, from a previous marriage.

I gripped the bar with all of my strength.

"Close your eyes." I did as I was told. I could hear the swift moving air as the bat closed in on the backs of my legs.

_Whop!_ My legs immediately threatened to buckle. I gripped the bar harder than I ever thought possible to hold myself up. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out. As usual, I refused to give in to his sick game. He wouldn't see me back down from him.

_Whop!_ I could tell that the backs of my legs were already bruising and swelling. I gritted my teeth.

_Whop!_ I figured out his plan. He had started just above my ankles and was slowly working his way up my legs.

_Whop! _The pain was starting to leak through my barriers.

_Whop! _I gripped the bar tighter.

_Whop! _I heard Camy stir. I took a moment to glance behind me. She was scrambling up the stairs to get as far away as possible from the bat. She didn't stay to help me, and I didn't blame her one bit.

_Whop!_ He leaned forward with his pocket knife and made a slight cut on my upper thigh. I knew it was an extra "punishment" for checking on the well-being of my sister. I felt blood oozing down the back of my leg as he picked the bat back up and resumed his regularly scheduled program.

_Whop!_ I grimaced. He was going to paralyze me. I would never dance again. Tears welled up behind my eyes, threatening to escape.

_WHOP! _My legs buckled. I tried to hold myself up with just my arms on the bar, but I could feel my sweat making them slick.

"Have you had enough?" I whispered softly in my ear. I didn't answer. Instead, I pulled myself back into a standing position and clenched my eyes closed.

_Thud._ I opened my eyes in confusion. A young boy, maybe fifteen, had stopped the bat in mid-air. He threw a heavy punch into Walter's gut, and broke the wooden bat easily on his knee. In the meantime, I had slumped to the floor and was almost curled into a complete ball of pain.

"Max?" I blinked at the boy in confusion. Did I know him?

He seemed vaguely familiar. He had dark hair, dark brown eyes, dark olive toned skin, dark black clothes. He reminded me of a shadow that had come to life. Suddenly it dawned on me. This was my next door neighbor, Fang.

Before my dad died, my sisters and I had socialized like normal children. We went to school. We played with other children in the neighborhood. We ate food regularly. We weren't bruised. After dad died two years ago, mom had lost the will to live.

When she married Walter last year, the first thing he did was pull us out of public schools by convincing my mom that they were dangerous. After the first time that he started hitting us, I couldn't help but wonder what he thought was dangerous about them. Freedom? Joy? Friendship? Love? Something about the public school system irked him. It had been an entire year since I'd seen the face of a non-family member.

I hadn't spoken since my father's death. The only people that I even responded to were my sisters Ella, Camy, and my baby (almost, but she was really my sister) Angel. My mother had spoken to me, as had Walter, but none of them had heard a word from me in response.

"Max?" Fang asked again softly, as if I might break. "Are you okay?" I raised my eyebrows at him in a 'are you kidding me?' expression.

Fang had been my best friend once. From the moment he was brought home from the hospital our parents had organized play-dates. We'd grown up together. When my father died, I stopped talking to Fang. I stopped talking to everyone. I didn't even tell them that he died. I simply...stopped talking. When I disappeared from school, I wonder what everyone thought. I hadn't thought about that before now.

"Max." He said my name again, as if he thought that by saying it, he could hit rewind and delete the last two years of my life. He rushed forward suddenly, wrapping me in a tight, yet gentle, hug. "Max, it's going to be okay now."

As I remembered, Fang was never one to talk much. He didn't like to speak unless he felt that it was completely necessary. I knew how he was probably seeing me. Broken and bruised, not even fighting back. He must have thought it was something I needed to hear.

Apparently it was, because as he said it, tears began to spill down my cheeks. I didn't cry at my father's funeral. I didn't cry when I was pulled from school. I didn't even cry during any of Walter's "punishments". Now, a few comforting words, and I was sobbing like a leaky dam.

I wrapped my arms around Fang, and pulled myself halfway onto his lap. I was crying onto his knee, my legs laying bruised-side-up on the ground. I knew they must look awful. I could feel Fang wince at seeing the bruises, and my yellow shorts were turning orange with blood from the cut. I didn't care about any of that. I continued to cry. Fang rubbed my back gently, murmuring soft assurances to me as I lay there.

"Don't touch her." I heard Walter hiss before conking Fang over the head. He dropped backwards to the floor, and I cried out wordlessly. "So you aren't mute!" He screamed at me. In defiance, I shut my mouth.

He took a menacing step towards me, and before I knew it I was flying across the room. My head hit the wall with a disgusting _crunch_ and everything began to blur. I saw Walter take another step towards me, only to be tackled to the ground by a very angry (and very awake) Fang. Then everything slipped away and I was greeted with the all-too-familiar comfort of unconsciousness.

**So...what do you think??? Let me know if you hate it or if you have any ideas :D**


	2. I will always know you

**(A/N) Hey, sorry it took me a while to update. I know what I want to do in the story, but it's been taking me forever to figure out how to get there. Thanks to Kelsey Goode for giving me some ideas. I'm gonna use a few of them, but I think I'm going to change them to work for what I want. Feel free to keep giving ideas people, because I may change my mind later. Anyway, this chapter is a little less dark. In fact, I found the flashback really cute after I wrote it. Who knows, maybe I'm crazy...let me know :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride...or sadly Iggy and Fang. :(**

**Max POV**

I woke up but left my eyes closed for a moment (something you learn to do around Walter and his "Surprise Punishments"). With my eyes closed I began to assess my current situation.

I was suffocating in heat. I couldn't breath. I could barely move. There was a static-y sound coming from my left. I was itchy, and I was hot. Perhaps the worst of all, I had no idea where I was. It felt like I was rocking gently, and by that I was confused. Through my eyelids I could feel bright light, light that couldn't be from any ordinary light-bulb that Walter would by. I could be a fire. It did seem to be the source of the blinding, suffocating heat. But it was...above me?

I made a list of possibilities:

1. I finally died, and the blinding light was either Heaven or Hell (the heat suggested the latter)

2. The house, or something, was on fire (probably due to some sick idea of Walter's. Trust me, with him around, you can never know _what_ to expect.)

That was about as far as I got before deciding to open my eyes a slit and check it out. I saw a face, horizontal to the direction I was looking in. I sluggishly tried to figure out what was going on, before my memory kicked in. Fang. Fang had saved me.

"Max!" He sounded relieved. I ignored him for a moment.

I glanced around, and let a gasp escape me. I was outside! I hadn't been outside in a year. Mostly, I stayed in my room or the Ballet Studio. Unless I was receiving "punishment" I didn't even go near windows. Going, or seeing, outside was against the rules. I looked around myself in shock.

Outside. Wow. I'd almost forgotten how magnificent the sky could be.

I realized, feeling a bit foolish, that the bright light and the heat were the afternoon sun beating down on me. The rocking was that of Fang carrying me. The static-y sound was a couple of birds, chirping from a nest in the tree we were currently passing.

I opened my mouth to ask where my sisters were...and caught myself. I hadn't spoken in two years. I wasn't about to start now, with Fang, just because he'd momentarily rescued me. I wasn't even sure if I knew this boy anymore.

"Max?" He sounded worried. It wasn't like him. He'd always been stoic. It seemed I _didn't _know him anymore. When I knew him, he hardly ever showed emotion. _Except around you!_ My inner-self argued. I ignored me, and raised my eyebrows at him in a "What?" expression.

He seemed at a loss for a moment. What to say now? He stopped walking for a moment, and gave me a blank stare. I stared back patiently. He'd figure it out in his own time.

"Max, where do I start?" He seemed to have figured it out. I shrugged and gestured for him to put me down. He gave me a stubborn look and, before he could react, I rolled out of his arms. As my feet hit the ground, my sore legs buckled beneath me. Fang caught me at the last second and helped lower me to the ground.

I looked him in the eyes, once again wondering where my sisters were. I desperately wished he could understand my helpless expression. Amazingly, he glanced at my house before answering my question. "They're packing their things. You guys are coming to live with me."

I rolled my eyes. Across the street was _so far_ from my house! I mean, Walter would never think to look at _Fang's_ house. I knew this freedom wouldn't last long, but in my head resolved to make the best of it, however brief it may be.

Fang seemed to understand my eye-roll as well. "My mom called the police. You're parents have been arrested, and the police gave us permission for you to stay with us instead of going into foster care. They said that since we've adopted before, that the courts will probably let us get custody of you. You should be safe now." All of that happened in the few minutes between the Ballet Studio and outside?

I tried not to roll my eyes again. "I know it's a long shot, Max, but please try to be optimistic. We're going to do everything that we can to keep you protected. _I'm _going to do everything I can to keep you protected. From now on. Promise." If there was one thing that I knew could _never_ change about Fang, it was that he _always_ kept his promises. I took a deep, contented breath.

Fang dipped to pick me back up, but I leaned out of the way. I struggled for a moment, but was soon on my own very sore, and very swollen, two legs. I hobbled towards Fang's house without another look at him. As I crossed the street and stepped onto his very kept lawn, I couldn't help the wave of nostalgia that overtook me.

_(Flashback)_

_We were laying, side by side, and watching the clouds go by. The sun was low, setting, casting a warm afternoon glow across my best friends' lawn. The smell of freshly cut grass wafted to me, and I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. A chirping, whistling, caught my ear, and I opened my eyes to find the source._

"_Look at the birds!" I pointed to a tree by the mailbox of my best friends' house. Fang, next to me, quirked his mouth to one side and sighed. His version of contentment._

"_Aren't they beautiful?" I asked, knowing that I probably wouldn't get an answer from him. _

"_Yeah, but they're so loud." He surprised me with a response. _

"_That's one of the best parts, Fang!" He gave me a funny look, and I felt the need to continue. "They're talking to one another. They're talking because they're happy, and they love one another. They're voices are so beautiful and melodic. They're joyful, can't you see?" He frowned at me for a second, while pondering my words._

"_I guess...but what does love have to do with talking?" I took a moment, trying desperately to word my answer correctly. Somehow, deep down, I felt that this moment with Fang would be significant some day._

"_Love makes people happy I guess. Happy people want to tell other people. Besides, you have to tell people when you love them. How else would they know?" He shrugged. In my 7-year-old mind, it seemed important that he grasp and understand this. I continued, to make sure that he got it. "If I don't say, 'Fang, I love you', how will you know?"_

"_Max!" He whined. "I just do. You're eyes, I can read them. Just like you can read my eyes...even when I don't want you to. People in love...they just know. Anyway, you aren't old enough to love me yet!"_

"_And why not?" I snapped, indignantly. "I'm seven and a half, thank you very much. That's a perfectly reasonable age to be in love!"_

"_It is not!" He argued._

"_How would you know?" I asked him, putting my hands on my hips._

"'_Cause, when I asked mommy when I could marry you she said that seven isn't old enough to be in love!" He answered, as if the answer were obvious._

"_Aw. How old is old enough then?" I asked, my spirit down. _

"_How the heck should I know?" He asked, exasperated. "I'm only seven! I just know that we aren't old enough to be in love yet! We'll just have to wait." _

"_Fine then. We'll wait, but you better promise not to forget." He nodded, and grabbed my hand as I lay back down next to him in the grass again. _

"_Max?" He asked after a moment. _

"_Hmm?"_

"_In case you __**are**__ right, I love you. Now you know, and I never want to say it again." _

"_Fang, you have to say it again when we're old enough to be in love." I reminded him, and he sighed next to me. _

"_Hopefully it won't be this complicated then." He told me, looking back at the chattering birds._

I couldn't help the edges of my mouth quirking up at the memory. We never spoke of it again, and I wasn't even sure if Fang remembered. A few months after that day, Fang had reached the girls-have-cooties-phase. We were still best friends during that time, but we couldn't touch or talk about being in love or he would catch them. So, the conversation was buried and eventually forgotten.

I hadn't realized that in my moment of reminiscence I'd stopped walking. Fang was glancing at me with concern in his eyes. He tried to keep his face calm, but I could still read his eyes like a book.

Of course I still knew this boy. How could I have thought differently? I grew up with Fang. No matter how much he changed, I would always know him, and he would always be my best friend. This thought brought to my lips, the closest thing to a smile I'd had since my father died.

I would always know Fang.

**So???? What do you think?? You can let me know with a lovely review :D. **

**Also, at the risk of giving away my own foreshadowing, this wasn't just a fluff chapter. It's kinda relevant-ish later :) Plus, I thought after that extremely dark chapter you amazing readers deserved a peek into the light side of this story. Please review and let me know what you thought!**

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	3. Nudge Channel Unleashed!

**:D You have no idea how wide my grin is. I can't convey with a simple smiley-face how absolutely wonderful I'm feeling today. It's sunny and beautiful, and I get to write and listen to my music for another day before my mom is looking over my shoulder all the time :D! She's not TOO bad I guess, but she's kinda a control freak and just wants to make sure I'm okay. As her daughter I don't mind if she's in my business at all (I'm not up to, or into, anything I shouldn't be) but as a writer it drives me bonkers! ANYWAY, It's beautiful and I feel like writing on this story today, so lucky you guys, you get a chapter. **

**P.S. I wanted to say to the reviewer that called Fang a knight that I loved your comment, and found it funny, because just before I read it I'd decided to make Fang's last name Knight :)**

**P.S.S. Thank you guys so much! I checked my email after only one day and had 46 emails from FF. They were all 'Story Alerts' or reviews and such. I was very happy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm trying to think of something clever to use...but I'm drawing a blank. How am I to survive in a society of writers if I can't think of something clever and witty off of the top of my head ;P I don't own Maximum Ride, but I own the first three season's of Invader Zim on DVD :D Hence: My Name: YourMoosyFate**

**Max POV**

"Max? Are you okay?" I turned to look at Fang, trying to keep the almost-smile off my face. It didn't work. I finally made eye-contact with him. Eye contact, a connection, with another human being. Quite frankly, I'd almost forgotten what that was. I nodded in answer to his question, and held his eyes with mine for a moment.

Fang's eyes were dark brown, but they seemed to have discovered a hue that never existed before him. They were deep, and almost black. Suddenly, I felt like I was falling. There was a mystery behind them, one that I almost had figured out once. I felt a blush rise on my cheeks as I looked into his eyes.

He seemed to see the spark in my eye. The moment that I finally acknowledged him again. He fought a slow smile spreading across his face.

"So Max," He began, a challenging tone in his voice. "How do chocolate chip cookies sound?" I could feel my eyes widening. I hadn't had Mrs. Knight's chocolate chip cookies in two years! My mouth was practically watering! I nodded enthusiastically.

Fang stepped ahead of me and opened the door for me **(A/N AW isn't Fang a gentleman!!)**. I stepped in and inhaled so deeply that I thought my lungs might burst. The smell of chocolate chip cookies was almost overwhelming. I glanced back at Fang and headed for the kitchen.

As I walked through his house, I felt a pang of...something. I'd been missing something crucial for two years. This feeling, it was like sadness and happiness all at the same time. A warm, longing, aching feeling in the pit of my stomach and surrounding my heart, that was spreading through my entire being. It washed over me in less than a second, almost drowning me. I sucked in air, and closed my eyes.

Two years since I'd seen Mrs. Knight. Two years since I'd walked these homey hallways. Two years since I'd had the familiar sense of leading Fang to his own kitchen. Tears unwillingly began to spring to my eyes. Two years since this longing, aching feeling had been present.

Back then, the feeling was welcome. I knew it, and acknowledged it often. At the time, I knew what it was. Now, it was different and strange. It scared me. The power of this...this...movement.

I leaned against the wall behind me for a moment, trying to catch my breath. I wrapped my arms around myself. If I didn't, who would hold my insides together? If I didn't, who would keep me from falling apart from the sheer force of this...thing?

"Max?" Fang asked, seeing tears roll down my cheeks. I looked up at him in fright. Why was this happening now? I'd worked so hard to bury this happiness, this joy. I knew that I wouldn't know it again. I buried it deep, to keep it away from Walter, to keep it away from myself. Now here it was, slapping me in the face.

And I knew. I knew it couldn't last.

Fang took a slow step towards me, but I ignored him. I focused on my arms, keeping my emotions in as much control as possible. Suddenly, strong arms were around me, helping me hold myself together.

I sucked back a sob. I _would not_ break down. Not again. I clenched my teeth. My throat constricted with effort, while my knees started shaking. If Fang saw me crying again, he would see how weak I really was now. I took a shuttering breath, trying to keep the tears locked inside of me.

It was too much. A sob ripped through my throat. It pulled from the soles of my feet, wracking my body, and escaping into Fang's shoulder. I grabbed a fistful of his shirt, trying to hold myself steady. He pulled me into a tighter hug, and that was the straw. I broke down, again, sobbing into Fang in the middle of the hallway.

"It's okay, Max. I promised, didn't I? I promised." He was whispering into my hair. I slumped to the floor, no longer able to stand on my shaking legs. Fang sat next to me, keeping my face in his shoulder.

"I promised." He told me again. I nodded, trying to pull myself together. I took a few deep breaths and tried to bring myself back to myself.

I caught another whiff of cookies and glanced up to see Mrs. Knight standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She'd been watching this scene, and had tears of her own streaming down her cheeks. I stared at the floor in embarrassment.

"Cookie time?" Fang asked me, breaking the silence. _Cookie time. The_ familiar phrase brought back that pang, but it wasn't as strong, and I shoved it aside. I gave Fang a 'Heck yeah, it's cookie time!' look, and he grinned, immediately lighting up the dark hallway.

Fang stood, grabbed my hands, and helped me to my feet. I looked at Mrs. Knight again from the corner of my eyes. She was watching us with a funny look on her face, her mouth pulled into a lopsided grin. She caught me looking and grinned for real.

"Well, I have to run to the station and get a few more things sorted out, but help yourself to as many cookies as you want. Max, it's good to see you sweetie." Fang's mom gave me a one-armed hug, before slipping through the rest of the narrow hallway and out the front door.

"Great, now you're going to overdose on cookies because my mom gave you permission." Fang said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and continued leading him into the kitchen.

It was just as I remembered it. It was a small, but very colorful, kitchen. The table, chairs, and kitchen cabinets were a bright, lime green. The counters and other various surfaces were a dull orange, it blended with the green to bring it down a bit. The glass, French, doors were open, letting fresh spring air and sunlight into the room. The wooden floor was so clean, it was shining.

I briefly remembered having a flour-fight with Fang, in this very kitchen, when we were 9. His mom made us clean the whole mess, and we scrubbed all day, though we kept getting distracted. The floor had been the hardest part, and we tied sponges to our feet like the kids in the movies. It didn't work, and we ended up tearing up the sponges too.

"Hi there. You must be Max!" I glanced up to see a young girl, probably ten, walking into the room. She was dark and had curly, unruly, brown hair. "I'm Nudge, Fang's sister! I've heard all about you. I've been dying to meet you. The way Fang talks about you, and trust me he doesn't talk often, but when he does it's usually important or about you. I'm not saying that you aren't important, I'm just saying-" Fang finally crossed the room and slapped a hand over the girl, Nudge's, mouth.

Since when did Fang have a sister? I momentarily compared Fang's dark olive skin to her much darker skin. Then it clicked. Before my father's death, Fang's mom and dad had been trying to adopt. This must be the girl they were trying to get.

"You've probably remembered by now," Fang started, "but this is my adoptive sister, Nudge. We call her the Nudge Channel. All Nudge, all the time. She's worse than you when you found out that Sally Earnst stole your crayons in the first grade." Fang rolled his eyes and removed his hand from Nudge's mouth. I put my hands on my hips, but Fang ignored me.

"Who's Sally Earnst? Was she nice? Pretty? You talked like me? Wow, Fang says it's impossible for anyone to talk as much as me. This one time, he bet me that I couldn't be quiet for a whole day. He told me that, if I won, he'd give me five dollars. I lost, but it wasn't my fault. He turned it to the History Channel! I mean, who watches the History Channel? It's so boring, all they were talking about was Marine Biolol...Biolin...Biology! Marine Biology! I mean, normally that stuff isn't too boring, but then they started talking about- mmmffff." Fang's hand slapped over Nudge's mouth again.

"Mute." He ordered her. He looked back at me apologetically. "I haven't found the volume or off buttons yet." I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. "Nudge, meet my best friend in the world, Maximum Ride. Max, meet Nudge."

I was slightly surprised that he still introduced me as his best friend. If _I_ was still _his_ best friend, why didn't he come find me sooner? As in, before now? Why had it taken him so long?

He handed me a cookie. "Max, I'm really sorry for what I'm about to do." He told me. Then he took his hand away from Nudge's mouth.

**So there! I added Nudge. I thought about it forever! Finally, as I was writing one of the last chapters (yes, I did wrote one of the last chapters, just not the stuff leading up to that yet) it hit me! Anyways, I hope you don't mind me giving Fang a functional and loving home. It seems like, in every other story, he has a bad home life. I decided that there was too much dysfunction in Max's life...plus I like the idea of Fang having a happy home. **

**I know this chapter was kinda chalked full of emotions. Sorry. I didn't know how else to explain what Max is going through. Trust me though, no matter how strong you are, abusive parents leave a huge mark on your thinking process and feelings for a while. **

**It was also 4 pages in word...but it seems so short on here. Oh well.**

**Twenty points and a free virtual cookie to anyone that can name/identify the longing-aching feeling that brought Max to tears and why it did :D Thirty points and a free virtual cookie if you can identify/explain the look on Fang's mom's face.**

**Please review**

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**...........................................................................................YourMoosyFate**


	4. Hero Complex

**I said I would do my best, didn't I? I've only been back to school for three days, and I'm already ready to be done with it. Thank God I'm a senior. I dislike my AP Lit teacher...but I'm really excited about my Creative Writing class. My teacher, Mr. Brown, seems pretty cool and I'm hoping that it makes up for my crappy AP Lit teacher. *Sigh* Anyway, if I don't get spotless grades and turn into Miss-perfect-teenage-girl-that-acts-girly-&-does-her-chores-&-homework-&-never-gets-sad-or-does-anything-wrong-or-trips-or-forgets-things-or-eats-to-much-or-writes-anything-badly-or-sulks-or-argues-or-does-anything-wrong then I'm in deep shit with my parents, and family, and the rest of America that's counting on me. No pressure :( Cheers to a new year...**

**I don't own Maximum Ride, okay? Okay. Get it? Got it? Good.**

**Max POV**

After what seemed like hours, though it was only another minute or so, of listening to Nudge ramble on and on, my sister's waltzed through the door. Literally. Ella grabbed Camy, and waltzed her through the French doors. Angel was not far behind, waltzing with an imaginary partner. Their bags flew in circles around them, constantly threatening to break something, but they didn't seem to notice. Nudge stopped mid-sentence and began to clap enthusiastically.

"I wish I could dance!" Nudge cried watching my sisters move with such grace across the kitchen floor. I patted her on the back comfortingly. "How long have you been dancing? Could you teach me? I've always wanted to learn to dance! Then-"

"Hi. It's nice to meet you. I'm Angel." My Angel interrupted sweetly. "Max has been dancing since she was old enough to walk, as have Ella and I. We've been, or more like Max has been, teaching Camy since our parents- What's your name?"

"I wish I could dance! Do you think that you could teach me? Angel is such a pretty name! Do you like it? I wish I had a name like Angel! I mean, I like Nudge too, but Angel is so pretty. I wish I had a more girlie name sometimes! Like Tiffany, or Krystal, or...or...Monique! You know? This one time I met a girl named April! I love April, 'cause it's spring and I love the spring! It's so pretty with the birds, and the flowers! What's your favorite flower?" Fang lunged across the room with surprising agility and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"If you ask her, I bet Max would teach you. I do like my name. I don't know, because I think that Nudge is a really cool name. Daisies." Angel answered without pause.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe we've met." Camy said shyly from behind Fang. "I'm Camy. What's your name?" She blushed a little, and I knew the look in her eyes. I just hoped that Fang was prepared. I knew he had a thing for redheads. He knew I'd kill him if he went out with my stepsister. Even as he was turning around to greet her, I was clenching my fists behind my back.

"Fang."

"That's an interesting name? Is it a nickname?" She asked, trying to start some sort of conversations. I almost smiled. Trying to start a conversation with an unwilling Fang, was like trying to fit the ocean in a cup. He didn't even answer her. He merely shook his head 'no'. "Oh, cool." She responded, defeated.

"Hey, Fang." Ella greeted casually. He took his hand off of Nudge's mouth, and she and Angel ran off to talk. He gave Ella a curt side-hug.

"Up the stairs. Down the hall. Your names are on the doors. You're sharing." He wasn't even speaking in complete sentences.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?" Ella asked grinning.

"Actually, I've given up my life-long dream of being a cheerleader. Mom says it's changed my whole manner." He joked, without a hint of a smile. Ella laughed, while Camy gave a wavering smile.

_Don't worry, Camy. Fang Humor takes some getting used to._ I thought at her. Of course, she didn't hear it. Ella nudged Camy with her foot, and they started in the direction of the stairs with the few bags they brought.

"Hey, Max! I'm gonna drop your stuff into your room okay?" Ella yelled back. I nodded, though I knew that she couldn't see me.

"I'm going to check and make sure that they make it to their rooms okay." Fang told me, not looking at me. He was hiding something. I hid my suspicious look, and pointed to the bathroom instead. He nodded, jogging up the stairs to catch up with them.

I waited, for what I felt was a sufficient amount of time, before innocently going to check on my quarters. Fang, Camy, and Ella were gathered in Camy and Ella's room, and I stopped outside to retie my shoe. I don't eavesdrop, it's wrong, but I simply couldn't take the risk of my loose shoelace coming undone to trip me in the hall.

"I was wondering. I mean, I couldn't help noticing. It's just-"

"Spit it out, Fang." Ella said, slightly annoyed with a hint of amusement.

"I couldn't help noticing that Max hasn't spoken a word. Is that...I mean, has she said _anything_ since your dad...is she still not speaking?" I clenched my teeth. I had been so close to opening up again, so close to speaking again, before _Walter._

"Nope. I think she was getting close. She said goodnight to me once, when she caught me crying about dad." Ella answered sadly. I didn't know that she remembered that. It'd been three nights before mom announced the engagement. "Problem was, when Walter moved in, he made it a project to force Max to talk." I heard a low growl.

"So, she hasn't spoken in roughly two years?" He asked again.

"I've never even heard her voice." Camy told him. "Ella says that she could sing. Is that true? Did she sing?"

"Like an angel." He said quietly, and I felt a blush rising to my cheeks. "So, what about you three. I mean, you guys seem so..."

"Happy?" Ella supplied.

"Upbeat and talkative?" Camy added.

"Yeah. Why is Max so much more...sad than you guys?"

"We were never punished as badly as Max." Ella told him, her voice dropping into a sad monotone.

"She brought it upon herself." Camy said sympathetically. "I kept telling her to talk. Or, heck, even stop helping the rest of us!"

"It's true. Max took everyone's punishments. Walter turned it into some kind of game. He'd find something on one of us, then punish us somewhere different without telling Max. She always found us. I don't know how...but she always did." Ella sounded almost reverent.

I wanted to stop her and tell her that I wasn't all that. If I'd been that good, she wouldn't have gotten that black eye three weeks ago, and Camy wouldn't have been hit with the bat at all, and Angel wouldn't have been slapped across the face a month and a half ago. If I'd been that good, he never would have laid a hand on my sisters at all.

"It's true." Camy threw in. "She always stepped in. Always. Then he punished her ten times worse. She never even cried. I wish I could be as strong as her. I haven't been punished since Walter married her mom. Except this morning, he hasn't harmed me at all."

"This morning?" Fang asked confused.

"The bat punishment was supposed to be mine, for getting caught looking out the window to watch the sunrise. I don't know how Max got there, she wasn't even awake when he caught me and started to drag me downstairs. I thought I was gonna get it. She's got like, a sixth sense or something." Camy admitted. I walked quietly back to the beginning of the hallway.

"She always knew. It's about killed her a few times though." Ella's voice turned bitter. "Her and her damn hero complex!" I started trudging back towards my room, warning them that I was there. They stopped talking.

"Well, if you guys need anything, just ask Nudge, my mom and dad, or me. We'll be happy to help." Fang's voice was back to it's flat monotone.

"We got it. Thanks you so much. For saving us, and letting us stay here."

"No problem." He slipped into the hall, and caught sight of me in the doorway of my room. His eyes seemed to be searching mine for something, I didn't know what, and I looked away to the floor. After a moment, I heard his footsteps retreating down the hall, and stepped into my new bedroom.

**Hope it was okay. It's sort of a filler chapter, but I felt like you should know why Max's sister's are normal and not as sad, and some of what Max has been enduring. She's just too self-sacrificing for her own good :)**

**Some of you got the question of why Max was crying and what Fang's mom was thinking right, one more than the rest, but I'm not telling who it was yet. I WILL say that they do get twenty and thirty points. They now have fifty points. Those of you that got half right get twenty OR thirty. Don't be down. You can't always win. I'll let you know later whether or not you win.**

**Thanks to Nichole for motivating me. I'm not lying, she cursed at me and everything. It got me off my ass. I shouldn't have taken so long and I'm sorry.**


	5. The Third Musketeer

**A/N Hey, two updates in a week. This is a good start!!! I felt like writing some more on this story, so here goes.**

**Also, it occured to me that I spelled Nicole wrong. Sorry Nicole. **

**Don't own it. Never have, never will. I'm willing to spend money to keep Iggy though. I need a new highly developed sense of irony, mine is wearing off...plus Iggy's cute.**

**Max POV**

I could hardly believe it'd been a week. An entire week of freedom. I couldn't help but let my spirits lift. Angel was happier than I'd seen her since our dad died, Ella too. Camy was enjoying her freedom as well, and almost all of us were spending the days outside.

The downside to our newly aquired freedom? Public school.

Mrs. Knight said that it would help us re-ajust to the outside world. Of course, my sisters were pshyched. They couldn't wait to go meet other girls their age, and play, and flirt, and dress up. Bleh. I was more concerned about my family, and about the fact that I wouldn't be able to communicate with anyone but Fang (who had an unnatural and annoying habit of _still_ knowing exactly what I was thinking at all moments in time after two years of silence and an entire year of seperationg).

_Here we go!_ I thought, slamming my hand onto the 'snooze' button of my alarm clock. I was immediatly wide awake. Being wide awake, the moment you open your eyes, becomes a bit of a habit after a year of it as neccessity. I grabbed some clothes and headed to the shower down the hall.

"Morning Max." Ella waved, passing me. "I know, I know," she added yawning, "you call the shower." I raised my eyebrows at her. "Please. We all know that the shower is like...your sanctuary." I nodded, trying to keep a satisfied smirk off my face. "But please, just leave a little hot water for the rest of us!" She called behind me. I waved her comment away, and continued.

Needless to say, I didn't leave any hot water. I heard plenty about it from everyone at breakfast though.

"Good morning, Max!" I'd never understand how Angel could be so chipper in the mornings. "Please, I get it from you! You try to hide it, but you're always the first one up every morning. You force Ella to get up and make breakfast, wake the rest of us up, and then hide and pretend that you weren't the one taking care of all of us." I blushed and tried to figure out how everyone knew what I was thinking.

I grabbed two peices of toast. One for me, and one for Angel. I slathered hers in jelly, handed it to her with a napkin, and kissed the top of her head before grabbing my backpack and heading towards the door purposefully.

_Time to get this show on the road._ I thought motivationally. _We've got some learnin' to do!_ To get my unheard point across, I punched the air triumphantly, earning a few eyerolls, and a thrown piece of toast from Nudge (who wasn't quite awake yet). I threw the toast back, and headed out the door.

"Since when were you so eager, beaver?" Camy asked, and rhymed, enthusiastically. It may surprise you, but I didn't answer.

"Since when did you like to rhyme, all the time?" Ella added, creating her own rhyme.

"Got a dime?" Angel added.

"Or some lime?" Nudge threw in.

"Keep this up and I'll commit a crime." Fang scowled.

_Fang the mime????_ Oh, it was times like this that I wished someone could read my mind and discover what the wit I could be! As if he _did_ hear me, Fang whipped his head around and glared at me, daring me to think it again. I gave him an innocent look. He rolled his eyes.

"Gee we're sorry, Mr. No-Fun!" Ella accused him.

"Look how nice it is outside, in the sun!" Angel said, giggling.

"You know what'd be better right now, a good pun." Camy was also giggling now, everyone was, except maybe Fang and me, but I was fighting a smirk.

"I can't think of another rhyme, I'm done." Nudge started, then realizing that she did, in fact, make a rhyme she lit up and started dancing. Everyone else was still giggling.

"All of you better run." Fang threatened, then realizing that he made yet _another_ rhyme gave an exasperated sigh of annoyance.

After a few more minutes of walking, and much to Fang's dismay rhyming, we made it to school. It was a smaller school, one were everyone knew everyone. It wasn't tall or towering, and it didn't cast a long gloomy shadow, but it felt like it did. My stomach was turning flips as we approached it. I wasn't so sure about this anymore. I thought about turning around and running away.

A warm hand wrapped around mine, and I jumped in surprise. I looked up to see Fang giving me a reassuring smile. He squeezed my hand. I sqeezed it back.

"I'm here, Max." He whispered. My stomach did something funny then, and I wasn't sure what it was. It was like my tummy jumped, but it fell. No, more like it flipped over. What was that? My heart skipped a beat, and my breathing kicked up a notch. What was going on with me? Was I sick?

_Nerves. It's gotta be nerves._ I told myself, but I got the distinct feeling that I was lying. I ignored me. _I ignore myself alot..._

"Mom called the school and explained your situation to the teachers. You have quite a few classes with me, so you won't feel lost and lonely, but they want you to have your own independence. So, you'll have about half of your classes with me and half without. Okay?" Fang informed me as we entered the large, glass, double doors of doom, and trecked towards the office. I nodded.

The receptionist didn't seem to have time for three new girls. She shoved our schedules into our hands, threw a few maps in our direction, and shooed us from the office. All without hanging up her phone, greeting us, or looking up from her paperwork. It was quite impressive. Fang snatched my schedule, while I studied the map, and mentally compared it to his.

"Homeroom. Good, I can show you where to go. You're locker's right by mine too. English, fourth. Lunch. Gym, sixth. Study hall, seventh." He told me, leading me down a bright green hallway.

"Fang!" Someone yelled from behind us. He half turned, and I snagged my schedule back.

"Yo, Iggy!" I straightened at the name. I knew that name. Why did I know that name? Iggy...Iggy. Iggy. Ig- OH! Iggy! I turned around and waved enthusiastically. Then, realizing he probably didn't remember me back, I let my hand fall to my side in defeat.

Iggy was a little bit of a new kid when I was still in school. We'd just offered to let him eat lunch with us a few weeks before my dad's accident. The last day I saw him, Fang had just offered to change our name from the 'dynamic duo' to 'the three amigos'. At first they thought my silence was in protest.

He was taller than I remembered, but then again, so was Fang. They were both taller than me now. He still had bright strawberry blond hair, but it was spiked with black on the tips, so he looked like he'd stuck his finger in a light-socket. **(A/N Discription from make-over in NY sort of. I liked the idea of Iggy with black-tipped hair for some reason though.) **He had a small loop in his ear, and was wearing a green shirt that said 'bite me' across the front and jeans.

"Who's your friend?" He asked, raising suspicious eyebrows at me.

"Remember Max?"

"Max! Really? Is that really you?" He seemed a bit shocked. I nodded. After a moment his face fell. "Still not talking to me, eh?" I was confused for a second. "I wasn't trying to take your place! Geeze, can girls hold a grudge or what?!" _Sexist Pig! _"I'll see you later, Fang!" With that, he stomped off. I glanced at Fang, who looked guilty.

"I...never told him. I didn't feel like it was my bussiness to tell him about...your dad. I'm lucky Ella finally told me. He still thinks that you're ignoring him because of my offer to be the third amigo." I shrugged, and pointed back to my schedule. "Right. To history, and beyond." He replied, monotone.

**So, HA! I introduced Iggy. I knew I would have him though, can't have a story without Igs! I love Iggy!!!! And just for you lovely readers, I added a bit of Fax :D Anyway, I'm gonna have Ari in the next chapter I think. I'm still trying to figure out how to have Gazzy, he was really my problem from the start. I want him to be Angel's sister, but I didn't want to many kids in Max's family. I'd already added Camy. I'll figure it out eventually, but if you have any idea's PM me or something. **

**REVIEW!!!**

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	6. Starting To Really Hate School

**So, I know that I promised not to neglect my other story for this one…but I like this one so much more *Looks Sheepish*. I'll get to it though. Today, I've been having a Peter Pan marathon (It's my senior year and I've been searching desperately for Neverland) so don't be surprised if some of that reflects in this.**

**P.S. I'm sorry if they're a bit OOC. Max is still kinda recovering, she'll get her violent fighting spirit back soon. She's still kinda got it, but she won't **_**FIGHT**_** yet. She's still sick at the thought of hitting another human being for now, because of Walter. Fang's just trying to look out for her.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Max, Iggy, Fang, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, Peter, Wendy, or Tink :( What do I own????**

**Max POV**

I followed Fang to our lockers, which were conveniently across the hall from the class. Standing in front of our lockers was a redheaded girl, in our grade, and she was pacing angrily. Fang sighed and rolled his eyes before walking ahead of me.

"Fang! Where have you been?!? I've been waiting by myself for forever! Ugh, you boys can be so- WHO IS SHE?!?!?!" She shrieked, pointing –and glaring- at our hands which had at some point intertwined again in the hallway.

"Honestly Lissa, it's none of your business, but this is my best friend Max." Again, he greeted me as his best friend. If so, why did it take him so long to find me? The question was itching at me. Lissa scowled, grabbed Fang's arm, and ripped his hand from mine.

"Of course it's my business! You're _my_ boyfriend, and you're canoodling with this slut!" I clenched my fists in anger. Who did this girl think she was? I took a step forward to show my thoughts on the matter, but Fang beat me to it.

"I am _not_ your boyfriend. No one says canoodling anymore. And _do not_, I mean do not _ever,_ call Max a slut."

"You mean, you're dumping me for this whore?" She whined.

"Max is not a whore," he growled, "and I'm not breaking up with you. We were never dating. We kissed, _once_, because you practically threw yourself at me. That does not make me your property."

"You stole him from me you brat!" Lissa accused, getting into my face. "What did I ever do to you? What kind of person are you?" I silently thanked Fang's mom for getting me a haircut, and let my bangs fall into my face. I shouldn't get into a fight on my first day. "Aw, do I scare you?" She sneered.

_I hit her before I could stop to actually think about it. It was reflex. She was in my face, and I was defending myself. I pulled my arm back and punched her, hard, in the gut. She doubled over with and 'oof' and I stalked off and into homeroom._ So, I didn't punch her. It'd been too long since I'd physically fought back. I had no doubt that I could hurt her, but the thought of hitting someone else after watching Walter smack my family around, nearly made me throw up. I did turn on my heel and stalk to homeroom though.

"Lissa, you mistake quiet for fearful. It's not the same thing. Don't mess with Max. I'm pretty sure she could beat even me in a fistfight." With that he followed me into History.

He sat down, and gestured at the desk beside him. "Max, I'm sorry about her. She has issues." I shrugged, hiding my still clenched fists under the table. "She sure got you riled up though, maybe I should bring her around more often." He added with a smirk. I raised my eyebrows.

"Miss Ride?" It was a teacher, standing behind me. I held back a gulp. Did she know that I punched someone on my first day back? She put a stack of all the books I would need for the day on my desk. "Welcome to my class. If you need anything just ask. Now, I've heard this not-speaking foolishness and I will not put up with in my class. If you need something, or if I call on you, you will promptly speak up." She didn't even bother to tell me her name, and as she finished her –not going to be met- orders she shuffled away towards the front of the room.

The teacher didn't call on me, not that I would follow give into her demands if she did. I'd been commanded to speak many times, and it hadn't worked on me yet. The class went by rather quickly, and as the bell rang I jumped up and followed the map I'd memorized without a word to Fang. Since he'd rescued me, I'd been following him around like a lost puppy, and it was time to prove that I didn't need him.

Halfway down the hallway, I was lost and already missed him terribly. Someone that I couldn't see shoved me roughly and I was sent sprawling. I smashed into the lockers, letting them break my fall. By the hard impact on the side of my face against the locker doors, I knew I would have a colorful bruise. Counted I was off my guard; the person that shoved me still must have been very large or very strong.

I took a deep breath and bent to pick up my books. A foot cut into my vision and kicked my math book down the hall. I glanced up to see a big guy, smirking, and trying with all of his might to loom over me. I reached for another book, and he kicked it down the hall as well.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I kick your books? What a terrible accident." He didn't look as remorseful as I thought he should. I weighed the option of knocking some real sorry into that thick skull of his. He looked at me for a second and a dark smile landed on his face. I tried to resist rolling my eyes. "Man, you're really pretty. I'm sorry that I knocked your books down the hall. I'm Ari. Say you'll be my girlfriend, and I'll go get them for you."

_Think happy thoughts, Max. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts._

I ignored him as best I could. I grabbed whatever books were left near me as fast as I could, and pushed past him and down the hall. I finally collected them back into my arms when a rough push sent them flying again.

_Great! Just what I need, another bully!_ I thought angrily in the direction of my books.

"Oh, don't scowl. It'll ruin your pretty face." I took a deep breath to steady myself and picked my books up again. As soon as they were off the ground, Ari grabbed them and threw them down the hall. One unlucky boy got hit in the back of the leg with one of them. "Just say yes. It's not that hard."

_Well aren't you the clever one?! What a stud-ly charmer! Just bully me into saying yes. What a plan! Don't act like a gentleman and win me over the right way, just treat me like crap and order me what to do!_ I'd had enough of people like him. I wanted to scream. I wanted to grab my books and chuck them at his head. I wanted to punch him in the face. I didn't do any of the things I wanted. I scurried down the hall, like a good little student drone, and picked my books up again.

I put my head down and made a few untraceable turns. I searched around the hallway I'd stopped in. I didn't see Ari anywhere. I also seemed to be lost.

I was starting to really hate school.

**AW I really wanted to put Iggy in this chapter. I almost had her think that **_**Iggy**_** kicked her books down the hall, but I just couldn't make Iggy be that petty. I was also going to have Ari be nice at first, because in the books –as a child- he did follow her around all the time. So, I did a compromise, now Ari is being mean and hitting on her. **

**Still not sure how to incorporate Gazzy. What do you think? Should he be their age, Iggy's younger brother, or something else?**

**I had so much more planned for this chapter too, but it's late and I plan on writing tomorrow. **

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	7. Adorable Zeik

**Somebody mentioned that Ari never told Max his name, and wondered how she knew it. Thanks, I had a dumb moment. I went back and fixed it. I really wanted to get Max's whole first day of school in one chapter, but it didn't work out that way. I'm going to try to get the rest of the day in now, but I don't want to just glance on anything. I want to have Max **_**experience**_** the whole day. So, here I go. I might even add two chapters in one day if you guys review enough….**

**Also, I picked Zeik because I thought Gazzy could come from someone saying "Gah Zeik" and then shortening it. *Shrugs* I don't know…I did my best**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. (They get less and less original)**

I pulled the folded map out of my back pocket and glanced around myself again. I had absolutely no idea where I was. Not a clue. According to the map, this part of the school must not exist.

"Lost?" I jumped and spun around.

In front of me stood a boy that held a striking resemblance to Angel. He had light blond hair, and big, round, baby blue eyes. He was adorable, though he was only about a year younger than me, and I wanted to take him home and keep him as a pet. I nodded in answer to his question and tried not to say 'aww' like a little girl.

"This is a new part of the school, and they haven't updated the maps yet. My name's Zeik. My friends all call me Gazzy though, and trust me; you don't want to be around to find out why. What's your name?" I stared at him. "Hello?" He waved a hand in front of my face a few times, so I waved back. "Not talkative are you?" I shook my head no, and he laughed. "Here, let me see your schedule."

I handed him my schedule. He seemed alright. He read over it a bit, and his eyes widened a bit. He looked over the rest, and motioned for me to follow him down the hall.

"So you're the infamous Max?" He asked me. I stopped, surprised. "I know Fang. He and my brother are really good friends. Iggy should be in your next class. I'm pretty sure he has math with Mr. Birch next too." He was Iggy's brother? I didn't expect that one. He stopped in front of a door with the numbers 1008 Math on them, and gestured for me to enter. I nudged him with my foot, and gave a thankful nod. He grinned and skipped off down the hall.

Iggy was already glaring at me when I walked into the room. I gave a small wave, and took a seat in the back of the room. As luck would have it, the Ari walked into the classroom. He smirked at me, and I glared at him from behind my bangs.

"Hey cutie." He called, making his way over and sitting down behind me. "I missed you." I rolled my eyes. It was going to be a long class.

Ari threw wads of paper, and erasers, at the back of my head. Then he poked me repeatedly. He pulled my hair. He was like a seven year old, not getting his way. I thought I was about to go insane! When the bell rang for class to be out, I fled for third period.

I found my science class without nearly as much trouble. As I walked into the room I stopped dead in my tracks and resisted the urge to throw up. The smell was sickening. It reminded me of Walter. He was a scientist, and sometimes as punishment, he would use us for scientific experimentation. I closed my eyes, trying to keep from thinking about them.

"Tired?" I almost screamed. Why did Ari have to be in my science class? Why?! "I know an activity that could wake you up." I clenched my fists. If I had to sit next to this sexist pig for another hour I would have to kill someone.

"Ari? Are you in this class now?" A whiney voice asked from behind me. I recognized it as Lissa's

"Unfortunately, no. I'm still across the hall. I came to visit my friend."

"Max!" Lissa cried outraged. "You came to visit that boyfriend stealing bit-"

"Max? Hot name." Ari interrupted, looking back at me. I ignored him, made my way across the room, and sat in a back corner. Ari glanced at the clock, and seeing that the bell was about to ring walked across the hall. Luckily for me, Lissa sat across the room.

I was itching to leave through the entire class. The smell was getting to me. The classroom and the lab were split down the middle, so I could look over and see all of the lab equipment. It was mocking me. When the bell for class to be over rang, I darted from the room, and fought to keep from hyperventilating.

"Max? You okay?" I jumped about fourteen feet in the air. Fang had been waiting outside the door to my science class. I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. "Are you sure?" I nodded again. "Let's go to English."

I followed him to English class, rejoicing that we had this class together. Ari was in this class, but he sat across the room from me, and he was busy hitting on some other poor unfortunate soul.

"Good morning class. We have a new student joining us. Her name is Max, Maximum Ride. I'm Mrs. Belle. I really hope you enjoy this class. I feel it's fair to warn you, that we have an assignment that you should get started. A well thought-out essay about the best thing in your life. There is no due date as of yet, but I will decide when it's due very soon. You should get started ASAP, and for the rest of you, I hope you've been working on it." I nodded. Mrs. Belle gave me a warm, genuine, smile and continued with the lesson.

_What is the best thing in my life?_ I wondered, as Fang led me from the lunch line and to a lunch table on the far side of the Cafeteria.

"Why did you bring her?" Iggy demanded, pointing an accusing finger at me. I sat down anyway, and Fang didn't answer. "I'm not talking to you." He told me, an immature mocking in his voice.

"Shut up, Iggy." Fang didn't sound even slightly bothered. In fact, he sounded bored.

"You shut up! Don't defend her. She's the one being immature and ignoring me because she's _jealous_!" Fang glanced at me from the corner of his eye, but I shook my head. Why convince Iggy that I wanted to be his friend when Walter was just going to pull me out of school again soon anyway? I didn't need to make any new friends.

We sat in an awkward silence until Nudge, Ella, Camy, and Angel walked up. They were followed closely by Zeik, or Gazzy. It turned out that Gazzy was the same age as Camy; both two years younger than me. They became fast friends. Ella and Iggy seemed to get along really well too. Apparently they had homeroom together and had become friends already. Angel and Nudge sat at the end of the table, holding their own conversation. Fang and I sat in comfortable silence, nodding agreeably when asked questions.

**Eh…I don't particularly DISLIKE it, but I do believe I could have done better. I'm going to try to get the second half of her day in the next chapter. What do you think she should have fifth period? I was thinking of being obnoxious and putting her in choir…**

**REVIEW!!! And I might find the strength and focus to write another chapter and put it up today!**

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	8. Choir, Racing, and the Fire Inside

**Hey, sorry I took so long to update. I know you guys want to cause me pain in ways that are unpleasant to think about, but please, I'm updating now. I've just been super busy, so again, I'm sorry. I got some really good suggestions, and I think I'm gonna use some of them. To the person that suggested gym, she'll have that sixth period, but I've decided to be annoying and put her in choir :D **

**So, I'm just curious but, what exactly is a beta, how do you get one, and do I need one???**

**Geeze, I just realized that I made Max good at like…EVERYTHING. BUT she's good at everything she does in the books, and in an AU she would have to be good at a lot too, right? I just chose to make her good at artsy stuff too. I'm more of an arts kid, and I felt like since I wasn't having her talk yet, I should find ways for her to remember herself and her old spunk. Sorry if you feel like it's too OOC, if you don't like it, don't read I guess.**

**Disclaimer: I have no own-age of MR-age**

When I looked down at my schedule after lunch, I almost dropped it in shock. I was furious. Beyond furious. What were they thinking? I wanted to run back to the office and demand that they explain themselves.

…So I did. Sort of.

I stalked into the office, found the receptionist that never looked at Fang and me, and slammed my schedule onto her desk. She definitely looked at me now. She glanced up, startled, at the owner of the angry, loud, piece of paper.

"Maximum Ride?" I nodded, instantly wondering how she knew my name. "How may I help you, Miss Ride?" I took a deep breath and pointed to the word 'choir' on my schedule. "Choir? Are you lost? It's just down that hallway," she pointed out one of the office windows towards a hallway. "Last door on the right."

I wasn't exactly sure how to proceed. I hadn't tried to _actually_ _communicate_ with someone in a very long time. Getting my point across to my family and Fang didn't take any work at all. They just knew me, but a complete stranger? I didn't want to write down everything I wanted to say. I simply stared at her for a moment, while she stared confusedly back at me, before nodding my thanks and following her directions.

I trudged down the hallway, head down, jumping out of the way of people that might walk into me. When I finally got to the edge of the hall that the receptionist lady pointed too, I realized that the hall was practically deserted. There were a few other children scurrying to the room at the end of the hall, but other than that I could finally walk without bumping into anyone.

When I reached the classroom and opened the heavy wooden door, all I could hear was sound. I couldn't make out specific voices, because it seemed that everyone in the room was talking, singing, playing piano, throwing paper, and laughing at once. It was so loud that for a moment all I could do was stand in the doorway and stare.

"You must be Max." A young man with short black hair and a trimmed black beard asked me kindly. I nodded. "I'm Mr. Harrison your choir teacher. I've been told that you are not speaking at this point." Again, I nodded. "I bet you're wondering why they put you in choir, aren't you?" I hid a small smirk and nodded. "I have no idea, but you're welcome in this room anytime. Until you feel up to singing, I don't mind if you sit in the back and do homework, or if you want, you can just watch, okay?"

I liked this man. He seemed to understand me very well considering that he just met me. He handed me an assigned choir folder with all of the music in it and told me that I could have a seat. I glanced wearily at the piano that someone was trying to play in the middle of the room. I wondered briefly if I could pick it back up again after two years of not practicing.

Before dad died, I had been way into the arts. My dad loved it and got me as many lessons, for everything that he could, as he could. That's why I was able to do almost everything. I could dance, I'd taken a few vocal lessons, I played the piano, and I even took some drawing classes. I loved all of it, but for two years all I'd done was a few half hazard sketches in notebooks when no one was bothering me, and of course I practiced dancing almost every day.

The rest of class was pretty boring. I felt…weird. I had been restrained from doing these things that I loved, and now I finally had the chance to do them, and I wasn't. I wasn't singing. I wasn't playing piano. I tried not to listen to the rest of the class singing as I grabbed a pen and sketched the kid at the piano. Apparently the teacher didn't play, and the one student that did had only been taking lessons for about six months.

When the bell rang for sixth period, and I shuffled out of the room and took off in search of gym. Fang found me in the hall and waved me over. I remembered then that we had gym together and brightened up a bit.

"Almost everyone that takes gym has it the same period. As you can tell, we're a pretty small school, and they only offer gym sixth and seventh period. Iggy is in this class too." I shrugged. "Can I tell him?" I shook my head no. "He deserves to know."

I gave Fang a skeptical look like, _What did he do to DESERVE to know?_ Fang rolled his eyes, but I knew the argument wasn't over yet.

The teacher beamed at Fang when we walked in. I found this odd. I mean, Fang was athletic but he wasn't exactly personable. The coach trotted up to us, carrying his clipboard and whistle.

"You Max?"

_You speak in complete sentences?_ I nodded.

"You have clothes to change into?"

_That would be a negative on speaking in complete sentences. You have brain capacity above caveman?_ I could see why Fang and this coach got along. Fang answered 'no' for me.

"There are some school issued shorts and t-shirts in the dressing rooms." He added, pointing towards the girls dressing rooms. I nodded in thanks and went to change. I found a pair of sweatpants instead of basketball shorts, to hide the leftover bruises on my legs, and an oversized t-shirt. I found a stall and changed as quickly as possible.

When I returned to the gym the rest of the class was in a giant circle and stretching. Lissa was in that class, and she was chatting loudly with some of her other loud annoying friends. Ari was there too, but he hadn't seen me yet. I had a sneaking suspicion that he did see me and was simply biding his time until he could catch me alone again.

"Today we're going to race the mile. I know that all of you can run it in at least 11 minutes, so we're going to have a bit of a challenge. Whoever crosses the finished line first gets to pick the activity for tomorrow. Let's head out to the track."

We trudged out to the outside track. I was suddenly glad that I was wearing comfortable shoes. We lined up behind the starting line, and I glanced at Fang. He nodded. It was so easy to revert back to our old ways. We were competitive, and I was calling this race mine. I stretched my legs a bit.

"For Max, four laps make a mile." I took a spot next to Fang in the back. We could pass the rest of these kids easily. "Ready," I glanced at Fang again and gave the tiniest of smirks. I would win. "Get set." He rolled his eyes and jabbed his thumb at his chest. He thought he could beat me? "Go!"

Everyone took off. Of course, a lot of kids started out very quickly and then had to stop to walk for a second. Fang and I started off sprinting, but unlike most of these kids we had a weird almost inhuman stamina. We were tied at the end of the first lap. I almost giggled when I lapped Lissa. She scowled. Iggy was not incredibly far behind us, but he couldn't seem to quite keep up. Fang's eyes were alight, he must not have had anyone to run with when I was gone. I wondered again why it took him so long to find me.

We were still tied at the second lap, and I was starting to feel my muscles warm back up to the rhythm of running. It felt great. I hadn't run so fast and so long in what felt like years. I glanced at Fang again, and he smirked at me. He'd been holding back, waiting for me to get back into the familiar pattern of feet on pavement. We picked up speed at the same time. Now the race was really on. We left Iggy, who had been trailing us by about nine yards, in the dust.

He was half an inch ahead of me at the third lap. I rolled my eyes. I could run faster than this. I did too. It was like breathing for the first time after almost drowning to death. We were halfway through the third lap when I passed him. I turned backwards mid-sprint and gave a girly wave. He rolled his eyes, but I was already turned back around gaining speed at every footfall.

I beat him by about six yards, but I didn't stop when I hit the finish line. The coach called me the winner in a loud, booming voice as I passed him. I kept running a sixth lap. Fang was trying desperately to catch up with me, but gave up halfway through the seventh. I sprinted two more laps before I was finally spent. As I passed the finish line I skidded to a clumsy halt and jogged to Fang for a water bottle.

"I thought you might never stop." Fang said as he handed it to me. I almost grinned, and I had to fight not to. I was sweating like a pig and breathing heavily, but I didn't care. It felt great to just run. It felt like some of the fire I'd forgotten I had came back. Most of the other kids were still running. I glanced at Fang in confusion. How fast had I been going? "You ran 2 and a quarter miles in about 8 minutes."

"It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen," said the coach jogging up to us. "Would you be interested in joining the track team?" I shrugged.

"There's Miss-Showoff!" Lissa accused, sauntering across the finish line for the last time. I took a threatening step towards her before I could catch myself. She took an intimidated step back and one corner of my mouth twitched in another almost smile. The fire grew.

"Go get changed! You'll find out what Max picked tomorrow!" The coach bellowed. Then to me he asked, "what do you pick for tomorrow?" I glanced at Fang.

"Usual?" He asked, knowing my train of thought without me having to do a thing. I nodded and left while he told the coach.

Fang and Iggy were both in my Study hall as well. I read a book, to the surprise of Fang. I didn't want to have to pass note with him. Even writing down what I wanted to say seemed too tangible right now. I pondered again why I refused to talk. At first, I'd stopped because I thought that if I didn't talk about my dad dying, it wouldn't be true. It became almost a crutch after that. If I didn't talk, I didn't have to deal with people. When Walter came into our lives, I refused to speak just to be obstinate. I didn't want to let him win. Now, I was just trying to find my voice again, and though I never wanted to admit it, I was afraid.

Finally, finally, the bell rang for seventh period to be over. I followed Fang to our lockers and grabbed the books I needed. I waited for him to finish, we found my sisters and Nudge, and finally headed home. It was mostly awful, and I hated it, but I was a little proud that I'd successfully finished my first day of school in a year.

**SO HA! She has now been through her first day of school. I know what I want to do now, I just need to pace it out and figure out how to write it :D I'll try to never ever keep you guys waiting for so long again. **

**REVIEW**

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	9. Fang Knight makes them good girls go bad

**Soooooo, I suck. I accept it. Breath, let it go. Here's the chapter.**

**Hehehe....Fang's out of character, but it' s MY fanfic and I'll do what I want. I had a bad day today, and the thought of writing this cheered me up. So deal :D (Yes, I am feeling bold today...)**

**Disclaimer=not mine**

I ditched Fang, Nudge, and my sisters halfway home from school. Fang offered to come with me, but I shook my head no until he gave up. I wanted a bit of time to myself. I needed some peace and quiet, and a little more outside time before getting cooped up in a house for the evening.

I headed to the park.

I picked up the pace to a comfortable jog. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get there. I missed the grass, the jungle gym, the stupid rocks that always got stuck in my shoes. Most of all though, I missed the swings. I saw the bright red paint and sprinted to them. I jumped into the seat and immediately began to swing. Something about swinging just felt...right.

Sturdy, back and forth motion, with the wind rushing through my hair and across my face, like I'm about to take off flying. It's like being a little kid again. I felt like, if I could just swing high enough I could fly away into the sky and never come back. Never have to face anyone or anything again. I stayed that way for about two hours.

Of course, that's when Ari had to stumble into the park with a bunch of his friends, waving around booze bottles and yelling obscenities. I rolled my eyes. They started jostling each other around and laughing. They were looking for trouble. How did they get alcohol? Furthermore, how soon did they start drinking after school to already be this drunk?

I jumped out of the swing, landing perfectly. I allowed myself a moment to smile before taking off back to Fang's. I didn't want to run into that jerk and his jerk friends when they'd been drinking. I had the briefest flash of my mom throwing a beer bottle at the wall in a drunken rage after my father died and ran faster. It smashed into a million pieces on the floor in front of her room.

I intended to go straight to my room when I got back, desperately trying to erase the image from my mind. That had been the beginning of everything. The beginning of her being an alcoholic, the beginning of her dating and marrying Walter, the beginning of everything that made my life a living hell for two years.

I was almost to the kitchen when I heard a thumping. For a moment I cringed, but after a second I realized that I could also hear music. I cautiously made my way to the doorway and poked my head in. I froze.

_I know your type_

_(Your type)_

_You're daddy's little girl_

_Just take a bite_

_(One bite) _

I held back a giggle. Fang was dancing around the counter, making a sandwich, and singing 'Good Girls Go Bad" by Cobra Starship. He was standing just so I could see his face but he didn't see me.

"_...Let me shake up your world_

_'Cause just one night couldn't be so wrong_

_I'm gonna make you lose control.." _

He did a twirl and a hip thrust. I couldn't contain it anymore. I burst into laughter. Not just a small smile, actually laughter. He froze in the middle of a dance move and slowly turned to face me. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was blushing. I continued to laugh.

Fang broke into a rare grin, walked towards me, and continued to sing and dance to the music.

"_She was so shy..."_

He pointed to me.

"_Till I drove her wild..." _

I was laughing so hard I could barely breath, and this only seemed to egg him on. He walked towards me and started doing the party boy. I felt my face heat up as I continued to laugh uncontrollably.

"_I make them good girls go bad_

_I make them good girls go bad_

_You were hanging in the corner_

_With your five best friends_

_You heard that I was trouble_

_But you couldn't resist_

_I make them good girls go bad_

_I make them good girls go_

_Good girls go bad"_

I finally fell to the floor, unable to remain standing in my hysterical laughing. I lay on my back and laughed, and laughed. It felt like a five-ton weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Like, I could finally breath again.

Fang turned the volume on the radio down and just stood there watching me laugh for the longest time. Finally, finally, my laughter died down and I lay in a comfortable silence. Fang walked over so that he was standing above me, but he looked upside-down.

"Feel better?" I nodded, he helped me up, and we went into the living room to watch television. "So do I." He muttered, and turned on the TV. If I spoke, I would've asked him what he meant.

**A/N Please Review :D**

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	10. She speaks! Oh wait, that was Angel

**Storm Gray Skye has asked me to dedicate this chapter to them. So, since I was so politely asked, I guess I am dedicating this chapter to Storm Gray Skye :) Sorry it's kinda short, but I've sorta got a bit of Writer's Block. **

**Also, what are your favorite athletic games to play, I need one for the next time they have Gym. I had a few ideas, but I'm not sure about them, so help would be much appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, nor the intellect required to come up with a clever, witty, original, and fun disclaimer.**

We watched TV for about thirty minutes, and I was beginning to wonder where everyone was. I glanced at Fang. He seemed immersed in whatever show was on, which surprised me. He didn't really seem to the type to be absorbed by a television.

He was so much _different_. Not so much that I didn't know him anymore, but I suddenly felt like I'd missed something, or everything. I missed all of the little things that made up Fang for two years, and I felt out of the loop.

He'd gotten taller, of course, and now he stood a few inches taller than me. I knew he noticed too, because I used to call him pip-squeak, and now, every time I reached up for something on a high shelf, he would get it for me and smirk that annoying smirk of his. He'd fleshed out more too. He'd always been athletic, but I couldn't ever remember him having a six pack like that.

I blushed lightly at the thought, and tried to pull my jumbled thoughts together. He blinked, grabbed the remote, and sent a sidelong glance over at me. I blushed harder, knowing I was caught. He smirked again and I rolled my eyes.

"I know it may be hard for you to drag your eyes away from my stunning good looks but-umph" I cut him off with an elbow to the gut. "What's up?" He asked seriously, rubbing what was sure to be a bruise in the future.

I didn't know how to ask. I stared at him for a moment, trying to work out how to get my question across without actually asking. _How do you ask someone where everyone is without speaking? _I pointed to the front door with a questioning look. Fang stared blankly at me for a moment, then glanced at the door. I sat that way while he puzzled through it in his mind for a moment.

"You wanna go somewhere?" I shook my head no. He thought for another moment, then scowled in what seemed to be the frustration of confusion. "You're waiting on someone?" I sighed, but so did Fang. "Max, why won't you talk to me?"

I looked down at my knees. I wanted to answer him, but it was almost like I couldn't. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. No matter how badly I wished to be ready, some silly fear was still holding me back. What was I even scared of?

"Look Max, I'm not trying to rush you." Fang started in a softer tone. "I just- I missed you." My head shot up in shock, but Fang wasn't looking at me anymore. In fact, he seemed to be avoiding my eyes at all costs. "I missed you a lot. I...and I blame myself for not figuring it out sooner."

"Figuring what out sooner?"

"Figuring out-" We both looked at each other in surprise. Fang's eyes widened. "Did you just?" I shook my head no. For a moment, I too thought that I'd voiced my thoughts aloud, but I hadn't.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Angel said sheepishly walking in from her hiding place on the stairs.

"Hey Angel." I could hear the concealed annoyance in Fang's voice, but Angel didn't pick up on it.

"Why didn't anybody wake me up?"

"Well, they were going to the movies, and Nudge said that you didn't want to see whatever it was..." Angel nodded in agreement, "so when you fell asleep, they decided to go ahead and let you nap."

"Oh." She looked disappointed, but I knew it wouldn't last long. Angel usually had one major goal in mind. That goal would be food. "Is there any food?" Just in time.

"Oh yeah, my sandwich." Was Fang's only answer before he hopped up and jogged to the kitchen. Angel and I stared confusedly after him.

"Hey Max, guess what?" I raised an eyebrow. Fang walked back in, eating a sandwich, and met my eyes for a moment. "Today, at school, I met these three really cool girls. They were really nice. Meredith and Courtney said that I could eat lunch with them everyday! Then I met Kayla at recess and she said that I could come to her birthday party next week. Can I go? Please? Kayla's really nice, and so is Courtney, and Meredith! Plus, they told me that I could hang out with them at recess too! Can I please go?!" She stopped to breath for a second, and her face started returning to its original color.

I laughed, aloud. Angel's eyes widened. I slapped a hand over my mouth in surprise. What was Fang doing to me?

"Max? Did you just...laugh?" I nodded in embarrassment. "I...you _never_ laugh. You never even make sound. That's the first sound out of your mouth since...since..." she trailed off, trying to remember.

"Actually, it's the second." Fang tattled on me. He was obviously trying to hide another one of his really annoying smirks. _Boys and their egos,_ I thought, rolling my eyes. "I got her to laugh earlier."

"Wow." It seemed to be all Angel could think of. "Wow," she repeated, looking a tad dumbstruck. "So can I go? Please?" I nodded, and she jumped up and down excitedly. "Yay! Thank you! I'm gonna go call her, right now! Thank you!" She gave me a forceful hug and then ran upstairs to call her friends.

Someone knocked on the door. "So you were expecting someone?" Fang raised an eyebrow. Was it me, or did his jaw tighten just a little? I shook my head frantically, and headed to the door. Fang was a couple of yards behind me. I opened the door to someone I'd forgotten to expect to see.

"Max." Walter's face had the sickliest sweet smile on it, but I could hear the rage burning under his cool tone.

My brain shorted out. This was it. Everything was over. I was leaving, and I wasn't ever going to see Fang, or anyone ever again. Back to perpetual punishment. Back to watching my sisters live in fear day in and day out. Everything blanked. My arm pulled back, and I smashed my fist into his nose with all the force I could muster.

**Ta-da!!!!!!!! Readers meet Cliff Hanger, Cliff meet readers :D Sorry guys, I couldn't help myself. Anyways, don't forget to give me ideas for Gym class. Sorry I took so long to update, but it's Christmas Break, so I'll probably update sooner. We'll see. **

**YourMoosyFate**

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	11. AN SORRY!

Hey guys, I promise that I haven't forgotten about you. I've just been totally super duper busy. I've got an Orchestra concert this week (that's not counting the rehearsals I've had after school), plus musical rehearsal, and I've had band rehearsals. I also have to finish writing these essays for Honors College (The due date is in like three weeks), Cap and Gown orders are due, and I've got tons of AP Lit homework. That's all JUST THIS WEEK, and I'm skipping out of church. Please be patient. I'll try and get a chapter up this weekend, but I can't promise that it will happen for sure. I can promise one thing, I'll update as soon as I possibly can.

YourMoosyFate


	12. All To Blame

**(A/N) So to be honest, I've had this written since last Thursday. I've just been too busy to type it up. That is...until Monday...when we got a snow day. I've been out of school since Monday, but I had an honors essay that's going to be due soon, and I couldn't in good conscious do this first. SO now that I've worked on my honors essays a bit. Ta-da! **

**I'm not sure if I like this one very much. I don't know if I want Max to be this violent, but I figured that when she finally let her anger out, then it would probably be really potent. She keeps tossing the blame around because she's upset and can't think clearly.**

**ANYWAY! Disclaimer: I don't own it. **

I didn't realize that I'd slammed the door. Or that I'd backed away from it, with my hand pressed to my mouth in shock and disgust. I didn't register the angry shrieking and pounding coming from the other side.

All I registered in my mind, was that I had punched another person out of anger. He'd done it. At long last, Walter had turned me into a violent monster just like him. Just like him. I'd even enjoyed hitting him.

For an irrational moment, I wanted to open the door and strike him again for what he'd turned me into. I wanted to slap him for changing me into this horrible beast. It took another second to realize that _I_ had _allowed myself_ to be turned into this monster.

My knees trembled. Would I always be this way now? Would I push Angel the next time she tried to sing "The Song That Never Ends" for two hours? Would I slap Camy around the next time she cursed in front of Fang's Mom?

"Max?" I whirled on the attacker, but he shoved my blow aside with ease. I was standing face to face with Fang. "Max, it's okay. I'm going to call the police and mom, okay?"

Another rush of anger swept through me. He was the one who let this happen to me. He left me there with Walter, left me to rot into this sickening thing I became. Then, he tried to act like he was my friend and not the deserter he really was. If that weren't so, why did he forget about me for so long? Why did he let me suffer and change for so long? He forgot about me. This was all _his_ fault.

"Max," he said it sympathetically, which was a lie in itself coming from him. It was his fault I was just like Walter now. He deserved to bear the brunt of the violence. He deserved a taste of his own medicine. Boiling fury washed over me again. I shoved him before he could explain himself.

Shock passed over his face, which for Fang was a perceptible widening of his eyes. He stumbled backward and tripped ungracefully over his own feet. The look of hurt that crossed his face as he tumbled to the ground in an awkward heap finally broke through my trance.

"What is your problem?"

I didn't answer him. I took an uncomfortable step back toward the door. Reality hit me like a two ton slab of unbreakable concrete.

I'd done it again.

I took another uncomfortable step towards the door. A look of comprehension dawned on Fang's face. I wasn't sure what he comprehended exactly. How could he possibly know what was going on in my head right now?

"I know you're scared, Max, but it's okay. I promise he isn't going to get in." Scared? I wasn't scared. I didn't have time to try and understand his reasoning before the furious beating on the door came to an abrupt stop. "See? He's already leaving."

This statement was punctuated by the sound of smashing glass.

"Oh, Max dear?" Walter cried maniacally fro his place behind the now open window. "You forgot to finish your chores!"

_Seriously?_ I wanted to ask. _You couldn't come up with something better than that? It sounds like a cartoon super villain. Completely incompetent and over the top. Have you been watching 'Codename: Kids Next Door' again, Walter? _Apparently, Fang felt the same. We shared a look and I risked rolling my eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me." Fang mumbled sarcastically.

Walter didn't answer. He was struggling to get into the living room without injuring himself on broken glass. I didn't see a weapon to be used to smash the window, so I assumed he did it with his foot. One leg hung over the edge of the windowsill, so that he was straddling the short expanse of wall between the window and Mrs. Knight's pink carpeting.

His cropped dark hair had tiny shards of glass in them, and his green eyes were as cold as ice. He had uncomfortably thin lips and his whiskers gave him a hard unfeeling look. His white tanktop was loose, sweat-stained, and it looked like he'd spilled food on himself.

I glanced around for an item to throw at him, and found the living room surprisingly barren. Something caught the corner of my eye as something small and blond barreled past me. I didn't have enough reaction time to reach out and stop her.

I'd forgotten Angel was upstairs. She must have heard the commotion coming from the living room. I looked at her now. The excited face she'd worn earlier was replaced with tear-streaked fury. I couldn't tell what she was brandishing in her small angry right fist, but she was using it to beat Walter mercilessly around the head. I couldn't tell was she was saying at first, but after a few seconds I could finally make it out.

"Stop it! Leave Max alone! What did she ever do to you? You bad man! You...I hate you! I hate you! Just leave us alone!" Angel's steady stream of attacks faltered as her voice broke.

As she slumped into an almost defeated heap, Walter brought his arms cautiously away from his face. He wasn't doing so well, I noticed in the brief silence. He had a bloody nose from where I'd punched him, and he had scratches and a funny shaped forming bruise from whatever Angel had hit him with, all around his face and arms.

He lurched forward suddenly, bringing himself completely into Fang's living room. He grabbed one of Angel's arms and dragged her roughly to her feet. My heart dropped. Not my baby.

As if the weather gods had witnessed the entire scene, lightning flashed and rain began to fall from the sky. Water poured into Fang's living room, darkening the pink carpeting until it resembled blood pooling across the floor.

I ran forward, shoving Walter aside and snagging my baby from his vice-like grip. She bore deep red marks where his fingers had grasped her. The marks shone like a beacon in contrast to her pale pink skin.

Blood red seeped into the edges of my vision. He hurt my baby, and he would regret it.

**Cliff says he doesn't like it when you all hate him. He says he tries, but you all hate him so much. He wants to feel love, just like everyone else. Isn't that right Mr. Hanger?**

**Cliff: Yep, that's right. **

**Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. I'm still pretty busy, but I have a bit of the next chapter started, so I'm hoping to finish and get it typed up within the next week.**

**............................................................................................-YourMoosyFate**

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	13. Seeing Red

**(A/N) So OuttaControl asked me to update for their birthday. I got the message late, but I wrote this as soon as I could. I turned in my Honors stuff, so I should have more time to update now. Honestly, not much happens in this chapter. It's more explanations than pushing the plot, but I added a tad of FAX to make up for it. Not much, but a bit.**

**Disclaimer.**

"Max? It is Max, right?" There was a brief pause. This voice was unfamiliar. "Do you speak?" There was another pause. "Max?" Whoever he was started snapping his fingers together. Man was this guy was already annoying.

I opened my eyes.

I was laying on Fang's couch...I think. My right eye was one huge ache. The knuckles on my hands were a dull ache as well. There was a bright flashlight shining in my eyes, so I sluggishly pulled my hand up to block the light. My knuckles were covered in dried blood.

_What Happened?_ My eyes began to adjust to the light, though an uncomfortable flashing made them take longer than necessary. Fang was standing next to the man with the flashlight, his dark eyes were boring into mine with an expression that I couldn't understand. I didn't like it. It was making me all squirmy. I broke eye contact as I felt my face heat up.

The man next to him looked as annoying as he sounded. He had a really pinched face, like he was sucking on a lemon and smelling something rank at the same time. His wore thin-framed glasses, that were scooting toward the edge of his fat scrunched up nose. His brown eyes were watery and tiny. He looked like a bad representative of a sniveling, whining, rat-character from a fiction novel. I could totally see him back-stabbing every character, but being too much of a pansy to stand up for himself or anyone else.

"Max," he said my name with the slightest tone of distaste. Maybe he was as disgusted with me as I was with him. "Can you remember anything that happened?"

I glanced at Fang. I could remember him dancing. I remembered watching TV. Then...then Walter came. He broke the window. He hurt Angel. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. What happened after that?

"Do you remember Walter coming?" Fang asked me. I nodded. "The window?" I nodded again. "Angel?" I nodded. "You attacking Walter?" My head shot up in surprise. "You don't remember attacking him?" I shook my head. "At all?" I sighed. This was getting really old, really fast.

"What's the last thing you remember, er, Max?" The man acted like my name was so difficult to remember. I stared at him.

"She doesn't talk." Fang told him curtly. I could tell he didn't like him either by the way he only looked at him from the corner of his eyes.

"She can't or won't?" He demanded of Fang. He turned to me before giving him a chance to answer. "Look, I don't have time for you to be a stupid drama queen, little girl. The sooner I can get off work the better."

Why did people have to be that way? It seemed as if I couldn't catch a break lately. I just kept meeting one jerk after another.

"Move, Parker." A gruff voice demanded from next to the snivel-man. Parker, I guess his name was, jumped. He sent a sullen look over his shoulder and stomped away. I pulled myself into a sitting position. "You'll have to excuse Parker. He's an ass, but...actually, I guess you don't have to excuse him at all. He's an ass. I'm Dave. Dave Horwits. You must be Max?"

I felt a smirk tug at the corner of my mouth. I liked this guy. He was blunt, and funny. I nodded, and reached to take his outstretched hand.

Dave was a large man, but not fat. He was more mucled. He was very tall, even though he was squatting next to the couch in an effort to be on my level. He had a scruffy beard, and light green eyes. His brown hair was messy.

"I suppose you'd like to know how Walter got here?" I gave a brief nod. "He was bailed out of jail this morning, with strict orders to stay away from you. I wasn't on duty, but I know that whoever released him was supposed to notify you. Signs say he was bribed not to worn you. He'll be in trouble, don't you worry about that. The bail was set high, so whoever paid it paid through the nose. I'll look into it when I get back to the station.

"As for what happened this evening, I'll tell you what your friend and sister told me. Walter dropped by, he'd been drinking, and busted through the window. He grabbed your little sister over there," here Dave pointed over to the stairs where I saw Angel huddled under a blanket in Camy's lap. "From there, you rushed forward and pushed him down. You two got into a brief altercation, do you remember that?"

I shook my head. I'd gotten into a fight with Walter? Now that I thought of it directly, I could see brief images of it, but nothing was clear through the red haze.

"Basically, you gave him a broken nose, though your friend says that may be from when you opened the door. He had a busted lip, and a few loose teeth, but you're friend says you're little sis over there attacked him as well. He's being arrested again, with 'no bail' and he shouldn't be bothering you again." He looked at me for a moment with unreadable green eyes. "Are you feeling alright, Max?"

I took a shuddering breath. How did I feel? I'd gone from laughing at Fang's dancing, to enjoying the television, to fighting with Walter. All in the course of about two hours. My eye was throbbing, and I assumed it was from my fight. How had the fight even ended? Who called the police? When did they show up? I glanced back up at Dave helplessly.

"I'm sure you're shaken up, but you're a tough one, I can tell." I allowed myself a small smile as Dave searched for a pen and a pad of paper on the coffee table. "Here's my number at the station, just ask for officer Horwits. Don't be afraid to call if you need anything, alright?" I nodded, and he stood to leave. "Oh, and don't forget to thank you're friend here for everything he did."

Dave put a kind hand on my shoulder, and then clapped Fang on the back as he left. I was confused. What had Fang done? Did he call the cops? I folded Dave's number and shoved it into my pocket.

"_Are_ you okay, Max?" Fang asked me softly. I shrugged. He sat next to me on the couch and I leaned into his side. "You scared me, when you went after him like that. I thought that maybe you had a death wish or something." I pinched him. "I know that you don't, you were just looking after Angel, but I didn't realize it at the time." I shrugged again. "It was definitely a good thing that Angel called the police before she came downstairs to attack him."

I looked up into Fang's eyes. If Angel called the police, what had Fang done?

"There's our little hero!" Fang's mom cooed, walking in from the kitchen with a plate of cookies. I scooted away from Fang and dove for them as she set them on the coffee table.

"Mom. Please don't call me that." If it were anyone other than Fang, I might have thought it was a whine.

"Are you all right, Max?" I nodded. "Both of you need to realize that what you did was dangerous, okay? Max, I know you were trying to help Angel, and Fang, I see that you were trying to help Max, but neither of you should have tried to fight with a fully grown drunk man. Understand?" I nodded, but raised an eyebrow at Fang.

"Yeah mom. Next time we'll go upstairs and hide." Mrs. Knight glared at her son.

"Attitude. Check it." She snapped before turning on her heel and stomping into the kitchen. I turned on Fang.

"It's not a big deal, Max. He punched you in the eye, and when you staggered back, I stepped in." He wouldn't make eye contact with me as he spoke. I stood, and made my way in front of Fang. I put a hand on the side of his face to make him look me in the eyes. I hoped he saw the honest gratitude in my eyes. I swooped in and gave him a brief hug before grabbing two cookies and walking over to Camy and Angel.

**What'dya think?**


	14. Confessions of A REAL Mom

**OKAY OKAY! I'M SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! I FAIL **

**Thinkin' about getting a beta…it might help me with deadlines….**

**Disclaimer. *Sigh* These are so stupid. I DON'T OWN IT, OKAY?**

"I love you, Max." I smiled as I kissed Angel on the forehead. _Just say it. Say it back! _I opened my mouth, took a deep breath, but no words came out. I couldn't do it. "It's okay, I know you love me." I smoothed her hair from her face. I was so glad that she was okay. When Walter grabbed her, I'd been so afraid that she would be hurt.

Nudge entered their shared room, and I took it as my cue to leave before she could rope me into a one-sided, endless conversation. I was Nudge's favorite conversationalist. I sat and listened to her without a word edgewise.

I checked in on Camy and Ella's room on my way to my room. They were both sound asleep. I smiled. At least they'd been spared of this horrible experience.

For some reason, it had been decided for me to get my own room; A decision that I honestly couldn't complain about. As I closed the door behind me, I let out a soft sigh. What a day.

I turned to see a full-length mirror on the back of my door. I looked pretty beat up. My right eye was swollen and purple, my hair disheveled, and my favorite shirt's sleeve was ripped. I had a scratch across my right cheek as well, which only accentuated my huge bruise. I was a mess.

A silent mess.

I was tired of everyone having to cater to my silence. I couldn't even ask questions. I couldn't call for help. I couldn't even tell Fang and his family "thank you" for all of the kindness they'd shown me and my sisters.

I took a few steps back and met my eyes in the mirror. _Say it. SAY. IT._

"Thank you." Mrs. Knight said softly, from the other side of the door. I grabbed the knob and opened my door slowly, feeling and probably looking confused. She stepped cautiously into my room, holding out an ice-pack for my eye. I took it and set it on my bed.

"Please, have a seat, Max." She offered, gesturing my bed with one hand as she closed my door with the other. "I want to talk to you."

I did as she asked, and waited for her to sit down as well before raising an eyebrow. She said nothing for a moment. We sat in an awkward silence. Suddenly, her hand was resting softly on mine.

"Max, I'm so sorry this has all happened to you." She said, her voice a tad choked up. I concentrated on the floor to keep from losing my cool. "You're so much better than all of this. You've always been such a strong girl. I'm so proud of you."

I didn't know why Mr. Knight was here, or where she was going with this, but for some reason, I could feel my throat tightening up. There was a heavy pressure behind my eyes for a moment. She was so…mom-ish.

"I wish- I wish I could take away everything that's happened to you. I wish I could grab Anne and shake her by the shoulders, and beg her to answer how she could let this happen to you girls. You're mom and I used to be pretty close…but after you're father died, she closed up. She stopped talking to me-stopped talking to everyone. We tried to reach out, but she would have none of it."

I nodded. I could remember how she was before. She would laugh with other women. I could remember her touching my father's arm softly. Remember, him draping one of his big, loving, arms across her shoulders.

"Max, I know you're trying. I can't read you like your sisters, and I definitely can't read you like my son can, but I can see you trying to reach out. You're doing well. Just keep trying." I nodded again, for lack of a better response.

"That's not why I came up here though," she admitted, "I wanted to thank you."

I looked up at her in surprise. Thank me? Why would she want to thank me? All I'd done was eat her food and get her window broken.

"I haven't seen Fang this happy since before you stopped talking. I hope you know how hard it was for him without you. He'd kill me if he caught me telling you this right now. It's just, he was so…different. It was like, well, like he'd lost you." She let out a small chuckle. "You know how he can be when he's pouting."

I smiled at her phrasing, and the fact that I did know how he was.

"He looked for you, ya know?" I tried not to look too surprised. "When you stopped talking, he wouldn't shut up about it. Hard to imagine him all talkative and worried, right? He was though, and then when Ella told him about your dad, he was so concerned about you. Of course, that was almost 8 or 9 months after. I didn't know either. We missed the funeral, everything."

"Then suddenly, you disappeared. Fang came home, and said that you missed school. He went over to your house, but some strange man opened the door and told him that you and your family had skipped town. Told him, "Sorry, but don't bother me again please." Fang knew something was not right about him though."

Mrs. Knight paused for a moment, looking at the wall like she could see it all. I was trapped in her story, silently begging her to continue.

"He said it, but I didn't believe him. He went back a few times. He kept saying that something wasn't right about it. He kept saying that you would tell him if you were going to leave town. He kept saying…that he knew you were suffering." Mrs. Knight's voice hitched and a few tears streaked down her face.

"Then he started mentioning the strange men that kept going in, the fact that they and that strange man were the only ones that left. At first, I thought the man was a drug dealer…until…until I saw your mother answer the door." Her grip on my hand tightened. "I didn't want to believe it, but I knew that something was wrong. I knew then, that Fang was right. Wherever you were, you were suffering.

"I called Fang's father. His work transferred him to a hospital in Boston for a few months. He said that I should call the police. Either Fang was listening in, or he figured something else out, but when I glanced out the window-he was already halfway across the street. I was worried sick. I thought…I mean, he didn't even have anything to protect himself."

I could feel myself staring at Fang's mom with wide eyes. Here I'd been thinking that Fang abandoned me, but he searched harder for me than I even imagined.

"I just…he wasn't the same without you here. None of us were. I just wanted you to know that, no matter what happens, you and your sisters always have a place here." I could feel the pressure behind my eyes building. Mrs. Knight ran a hand through my hair and gently kissed me on the forehead. "You might put that ice-pack on your eye to dull the swelling."

She stood and headed towards the door. "Goodnight, Max. Just know, I love you very much."

As the door shut behind her, the tears began to fall.

**So, this was 3 pages in word. I thought Max needed some questions answered, and I liked the idea of her and Fang's mom sharing a closeness. **

**I'm sorry I've been taking so long between updates guys. You deserve a better author. I got SO busy, and then when things finally cleared up I couldn't think of how to pick this story back up. You guys are so patient with me though, so thanks. You are awesome. **

**YourMoosyFate  
**


	15. Concerning Amounts of Testosterone

**So, I recently moved into my dorm and have been super busy. Things seem semi-chill right now, so hopefully I'll have time to update again soon-ish. No promises. **

**Disclaimer. (What happens when someone doesn't put a disclaimer? Do they get reported or something?)**

The whispers started almost as soon as I stepped on campus –not that I was surprised. I really couldn't even blame them. If I saw a new kid that I didn't know anything about and never talked to, that suddenly showed up to school with a black eye and a cut across her face, I'd probably whisper too.

This logic didn't help me relax at all.

I had this creeping feeling that everyone _knew_. They were all watching me. Everyone was wondering what mystery girl was going to do now. Now that she was violent. Now that she was a monster. Should they fear for their lives? Should they flinch every time she moved her arms too quickly?

They skirted me in the hallways. Yet I felt claustrophobic, like I was suffocating. Their stares were boxing me in and the walls were getting closer and closer to crushing me. I was left alone, but I felt like I couldn't catch a moment to myself to take in the pain without observation.

"Max?" A hand on my shoulder made me jump about twelve feet in the air. "Sorry, but we have to go to class now." Fang tried to hide smirk.

My morning went by quickly for the most part. Math was miserable, and I had a feeling that unless Ari got hit by a truck, that wasn't going to change anytime soon. The bell rang and I tried to make a great escape. Unfortunately, Ari was ready for me.

As I stood up to go, a large hand swiftly gripped my arm, yanking me back into my seat. I gritted my teeth as the room of kids began to clear. _It had to be today?_ Why wouldn't he just leave me alone?

"So, I've been thinking," he started casually. I tried to keep my face blank as I silently wondered how taxing _that_ chore had been. "You're going to go out with me." Apparently, he hadn't quite gotten the hang of that thinking thing yet.

I rolled my eyes at him before shaking my head no. I very quickly became aware of the fact that his hand was still on my arm as his grip tightened significantly. He leaned forward, placing his nose a menacing inch from mine.

"Yes. You are." He said, giving a bright smile that dramatically contrasted the seriousness of his actions.

I took a deep breath, realizing that he wasn't going away anytime soon, and shook my head again. As his grip tightened, I wondered if how long it would take for me to feel my arm again. I glanced around, realizing the room was now empty. I hoped in vain that more students would enter for the next class, before realizing that it was the teachers personal lunch and there wouldn't be a class for another hour.

"Do you even talk?" I clenched my teeth as he pulled me roughly to my feet. I continued to stare at him in silence. "He-llo? Anybody in there?" He said, grabbing my other arm and shaking me back and forth.

I took a step back, successfully yanking one arm free but painfully leaving the other in his grasp.

"Look," he started, bringing his face dangerously close to mine again. "I'm starting to get a little impatient with this whole 'hard-to-get' act." He told me, his face changing from a look of amusement, to one of annoyance.

I tried not to snort. He thought I was playing hard-to-get? He was even dumber than I thought! It was time to send a clear message that I was _not_ interested. I brought my arms up to his chest, and shoved him as hard as I could.

I'm a pretty strong girl. I'm a dancer, a runner, and I've been taking a pretty rough beating for the last year of my life. He moved back about a step.

His face twisted into a look of rage that I immediately recognized. I ducked as his arm flew towards my face. As his arm soared over my head, the grip on my arm loosened. I pulled his weight towards me as I jerked away again, throwing him off balance. I sprinted towards the exit as he tried to regain his composure.

As I scrambled towards the door, my backpack throwing off my balance as well, I could hear his clamoring behind me. A hand grabbed my shoulder, shoving me backwards. Again, my backpack became a hindrance, pulling me completely back and into the teacher's desk. I fell to the floor, shed my backpack, and sprung to my feet in an instant.

It wasn't fast enough. Ari had closed the distance between us, and pushed me back into the desk. His hands found my throat without hesitation. Suddenly, my air was missing. I clawed at his meaty hands, realizing that I wasn't strong enough to break his grip. My eyes grew wide as my back pushed uncomfortably into the corner of the desk.

My need for air overtook my fear, and my leg shot out to catch him in a very unfortunate place. The grip loosened and as I gasped for air, I moved to sidestep him. He called me an unkind name before knocking me sideways and into the wall with the chalkboard.

I pushed myself off the wall, and turned to face what was sure to be a difficult opponent. He wore an expression of pain and rage, and I knew that he was not about to hold back. I was off-balance, sore from yesterday, and already feeling pretty beaten up.

I started my favorite inner-pep-talk, one that I learned quickly when Walter was hurting me while I protected my sisters. _Pain is only a message, Max. You can choose to ignore that message. Some pain is about to come your way, but it's only pain. And, that pain is just a message._

Ari started towards me-

"What is going on here?" I glanced over at the forgotten door, to see Iggy standing with a few books in his hands. He looked pissed.

"We're just messing around, right Max?" I closed my eyes in embarrassment. _Why Iggy?_ My pride asked angrily. "Right Max?" Ari repeated.

I gave him a vacant stare.

"It looked to me like Max wasn't having much fun. I don't think I'd enjoy being knocked into a wall much. Unless you're into that kind of thing, Max…" He trailed off in a joking way. I raised an eyebrow.

Ari didn't catch it. "She is, actually. And you've interrupted our fun."

"Look, you brain-dead oaf, I think it's time you leave now." Iggy said, his joking tone completely gone. Ari rounded on him in what he intended to be an intimidating way.

"Or you'll what, pipsqueak?"

Iggy raised an eyebrow, "Pipsueak? Really? That's all you've got?" He dropped his books on the floor beside him and stepped forward. "Unlike your dumbass lackeys, Ari, I'm not afraid of you." He smiled.

"You should be." Ari told him, shoving forward. Iggy sidestepped him easily, and placed a leg out, sending Ari sprawling.

"Should I?" He asked innocently. "I suppose I'm just behind the curve on this one."

Ari growled, and began to push himself off the floor. He faced off against Iggy for a moment, panting and clenching his fists. Iggy stood casually, cockily even, his face giving off the idea that he was completely amused with the situation.

"All this for a girl that won't even talk? So not worth it." Ari muttered under his breath before turning on his heel and slamming the door behind him.

Iggy chuckled before turning towards me. "You okay?" To my intense shock, he actually seemed sincere. I thought maybe he had just wanted to fight Ari.

I nodded, unsure if I was or not.

"Your neck is all red. What happened?" He seemed concerned, leaning in closely to examine the strangle marks. I held completely still, waiting for him to yell at me. "Oh yeah, I forgot, you don't want to talk to me." He didn't seem bitter about this anymore, just bored with it. "You know, I never thought I could replace you. I never wanted to. I just wanted to hang out with you both. Besides, Fang would never replace you, even if I had wanted to."

I stared blankly at my rescuer. He still didn't know. Fang had kept his word, and kept it a secret from him.

"Now I'm wondering though, if Ari said you don't talk…do you talk to anybody?" I continued to stare without expression. Maybe I was in shock.

The door clicked open, followed by immediate sound. "Hey Iggy, you've been here awhile. Did you find your jacket?" Ella asked, and upon seeing me, looked totally confused. "Hey, Max. What are you doing here?"

"No, I don't think so. I think I left it somewhere else." Iggy cut in. "Let's go before Mrs. Reany has a cow."

"Okay, I've gotta run to the bathroom real quick though, so I'll just meet you there." She didn't wait for a response before running off down the hall.

"If that idiot bothers you again, just…blink twice or something." He told me jokingly. "Seriously though, don't let him push you around. If you don't want my help, ask Fang. He'd definitely take care of it." He put a comforting hand on my now throbbing shoulder before he left.

I fixed the desk, grabbed my backpack, and saw a heavy brown jacket hanging on the desk where Iggy usually sat. I grabbed it and headed to my science class.

**SO, Iggy is chilling out. I had a ton of fun writing this chapter -even if it was around 2 in the morning. I LOVE writing Iggy, and I think I find some weird sick pleasure in having people beat up Max. I didn't want her to seem super helpless, but it actually said in the first book that Ari was stronger than her. I figured she uses skill to win, and if she's put in a situation where she can't use her swift tactful fighting, then he would begin to overpower her. Thanks to KelseyGoode for this idea! It took me a while to get around to it, but I did. (So, if you've submitted an idea that I like but haven't written it yet, it doesn't mean I'm not going to *coughcoughsoyoudon'*.)**

**Thank you again for your patients! **

**REVIEW!**

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	16. Cafeteria Crap

**Sad face. I had this written as my A/N at first, "Anybody proud? :D I'm updating, and it hasn't been a ridiculously long amount of time!" I had most of the chapter written, so I was all excited. Unfortunately, my computer got a virus and then I got really busy in all of my classes. In fact, I should probably be doing homework instead of reading this right now. :/ In any case, here's the update.**

**To **Midge 1012**, I thought about that. Then I thought: people that aren't afraid to go that far, are probably not afraid to go that far in school/get caught. I mean, why would Ari care? He's just in school to waste time, meet girls, and be a bully. Besides, Max hurt his ego.**

**Disclaimer. I've gotten so lazy with these.**

I dropped Iggy's jacket in his lap and took a seat at the empty lunch table. He looked up in surprise before grinning.

"Thanks Max!" I gave him a wary nod. He seemed _way_ too enthusiastic. He looked about to say something else, but Fang took the seat across from us, and he looked away before throwing a gloomy "hey" in Fang's direction.

Fang didn't answer. He didn't even nod in Iggy's direction. Instead, he glared at the table angrily. I leaned forward, trying to catch his periphery. He ignored me. I was starting to wonder what the table had done to him. I was also feeling a tad sorry for the thing. It was suffering.

"Dude, what's your deal?" Iggy finally asked.

"What's _my_ deal? What's _your_ deal?" Fang scoffed.

"Er… I don't have a deal?" Iggy answered, his eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. Fang transferred his glare from the table to the confused boy sitting in front of him. "Besides, I asked you first." He added smugly.

"What happened after Math today?" Fang snapped, sparing a glance at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play stupid, you're not that good of a liar." Fang looked like he wanted to punch his friend in the face.

"Look man, I think you should talk to your girlfriend about that one…"

Fang blinked, his version of complete surprise, while I sat up straight in my chair. He paused for a moment, hesitation on his face. "Max and I are just friends." I attributed the sinking feeling in my stomach to the cafeteria food.

"That's not what she told me after Math." Now _I_ wanted to punch him in the face.

"You talked?" Fang let the idea distract him, rounding on me. He looked elated –and not just Fang-wise. I couldn't look at him. Unfortunately, I could still see him deflate from the corner of my eye. "Well, I suppose I should have seen that coming. Why would your first words be to Iggy?" He tried not to sound too crestfallen, but I knew him too well to pretend like I couldn't tell.

"She doesn't talk to you either?" Iggy asked, sounding completely surprised. Fang was staring at his food with unnecessary concentration, while I tried to look anywhere but his disappointed face. Fang looked at me for a moment, but didn't answer him.

A depressing silence found its way to our table until the rest of our friends showed up. They seemed to pick up on the discomfort though, so conversation was strained and awkward. I picked at my food until a wad of paper flew through my line of sight and into my mashed potatoes. I plucked it delicately from the fluffy, white, chemical, food-like substance and wiped the residue onto my rough, cheap, flimsy napkin before unfolding it.

"Max, do you like Iggy? I know you were alone with him earlier today, and he seemed weird afterward. I won't be mad. I promise. –Ella"

After my shock passed, I desperately resisted the urge to roll my eyes. The awkward conversation continued, and it seemed as though no one noticed her throw the note into my food, or me reading it, yet. I met her apprehensive eyes, and raised an eyebrow before shaking my head 'no'. She exhaled in relief and I actually did roll my eyes. A blush filled her cheeks and she looked embarrassed as she began to concentrate on her food.

I glanced at Fang, to see him watching our interaction with silent curiosity. He met my eyes across the table, and a slight smirk played across his lips. I wondered what might be going on in his head at the moment, and why his mood was suddenly so improved. I felt a smile creep across my face.

"Hate to interrupt your cute little moment, but I need to talk to Max for a second." My momentary smile pulled into a grimace as Lissa's nasally voice washed over the dull cafeteria babble.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's on her list of top priorities." I glanced at Iggy in surprise, to see a familiar look of disdain.

"Shut up, Spikey-hair!" She snapped. Iggy snorted.

"Wow. What an insult…Red-hair!" He burst into a fit of giggles.

Her scowl continued to deepen. Finally, it seemed as though she couldn't take it anymore. "I'll talk to you later, Max." She snapped, before stomping off.

I rolled my eyes and focused on my food again.

**Sorry for the ending. I know it's not very good –but I couldn't really think of a better place to stop! I feel like this story has gotten just a tad dull, but no worries! I'm going to try and dedicate myself to catching up on all of my stories in the next month or so, so keep an eye out for more updates!**

**Also, I'm going to try and start replying to all of my reviews. Not the ones that say things like, "Good" or "Update". I'm going to try and reply to the ones that use at least a sentence. This isn't a bribe to get you to say more. I just feel like, if you're going to take the time to send a sincere review, then I should spend the time to respond. It's not that I haven't wanted too, but I get so overwhelmed sometimes. ANYWAYS, I'm not going ask you to review for this chapter, because I don't feel like anything significant happened. I'm just letting you know for future reference. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**YourMoosyFate**


	17. What's Wrong With Everybody?

**Hey, so I know that you're all mad at me. This has been a really rough year for me. A lot has happened, and I don't feel like explaining it. You'll just have to trust that I've been having a really difficult time just balancing my life at all. I'm not even going to promise that I'll update again soon, because it's almost finals week and that would be a rash promise to make. I'll try my best –because I've got the next couple of chapters written in my head. To be honest, I didn't know any of this was going to happen. I just had a pen and a notebook, and this happened. I think I like it. Sorry if it's depressing, but it's what ended up on the paper. As for the piano thing –I'm not that good at piano yet, but sometimes when I'm playing a piece that I like (or just messing around and making stuff up) I sort of feel like the piano is playing me and I can't seem to stop until I mess up. Seriously, I've sat in front of a piano for hours before, without even realizing it how long I was there. **

**ANYWAY, enjoy. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. I DO own the song that she's playing in my head (try and make sense of that one!)**

The rest of the day incredibly uncomfortable. I felt as though Fang was more distant that he'd ever been before. Even in the year that I _couldn't_ see him, I had still felt that if he were there I wouldn't be alone. I suddenly had doubts about our friendship. I followed him like a shadow, hoping that he would simply acknowledge me warmly again. I couldn't read his face, and he wouldn't meet my eyes long enough for me to figure out what he was thinking. For the second time since I'd seen him after the craziness, I wondered who the boy in front of me was. This boy with dark, cold eyes, that wouldn't look me in the face. Who was this person?

Had I done something wrong? It obviously couldn't have been something that I said. It wasn't even that he was being rude, or mean, or cruel. Simply, detached. His comments short and choppy, as though he was constantly anticipating the end of our 'conversations'.

"Are you going to follow me _into_ the bathroom, Max?" I stopped, realizing that I had been blindly following him down the hall for some time now. I had no idea where we even where. I stared blankly at him, the sign next to him really was a boys bathroom, and I had obviously been about to follow him inside. I shook my head as someone nearby snickered. A blush filled my cheeks, and once again I nervously glanced at his face. My heart dropped. He wasn't looking at me. What did I do?

"Just wait here. I'll be right back, and then we'll find the others and walk home." His tone seemed mild, but I couldn't help but notice the undercurrent of anger in his voice. I felt that if I could see his eyes, they would be furious and frightening looking.

He walked into the bathroom and I began the awkward process of standing and waiting alone in a hallway. Within moments, the red-headed nuisance was standing in front of me. I got the eerie feeling that she'd been stalking us until she could catch me alone.

"You know, just because he's hanging out with you, doesn't mean that he likes you." I tried not to roll my eyes. If that was so, then why was she making such a big deal about telling me about it? "I don't want you to think that you're all high and mighty just because he was nice to you. Before you showed up, he was nice to lots of girls. Here soon, he'll get sick and tired of you, and he'll be finished with you and onto another girl."

I tried to keep her words from stinging, but I couldn't keep the recent picture of his cold eyes out of my head. I thought that we were best friends, that he rescued me because that could never change for him, but what if he was sick of me now? What if I'd changed too much and now I got on his nerves or something? What if he hated me now, and was only being nice because he knew that I didn't have any other friends or anywhere else to go?

"You're nothing, Max. Nothing. If I'd been your step-parent, I would've beaten you too. Except if it had been up to me, maybe you wouldn't have gotten out so lucky." I recoiled from her in shock. How could she possibly know that? "Didn't expect me to know that little secret, did you? Well guess what little Maxi, pretty soon I'm going to make sure that _everyone_ knows your secret. You can't expect me to keep good gossip like this to myself, can you?"

I punched her pretty hard. She reeled back with a pained cry, cradling her face with both hands and trying to stem the probably blood gushing from her nose. I shoved her into the wall, getting in her face, and giving her a menacing glare. Her eyes widened.

"Okay, I won't say anything! I promise!" She wheezed. Her voice was even more nasally due to the steady flow of blood rushing down her face and onto her light pink top. Her face was filled with fear, and when I recognized the look of terror in her eyes, I took a step back in horror.

I'd done it again. I'd become monster-Max –destroyer of happiness and peace. I'd hit another person and used force in order to intimidate them. Again. What was _wrong_ with me? I took another step back, before I took off running down the hall. What was _wrong_ with me?

I ran with no direction, shoving kids out of my way and hating myself even more for it. Somehow, I found myself at the choir room. It was empty, which was both peaceful and strange. It was an undisturbed silence that I hadn't had the chance to enjoy in a very long time. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to enjoy it now either. It wasn't until I found myself completely alone that I allowed the tears to come. Why could I just ignore that red-headed brat? Was it because I believed her about Fang? Was it because she knew and was threatening to tell my life to the rest of the school? Or, was she just annoying?

Regardless of the circumstance, I'd still used violence against her. I was sick. I was a monster –just like that man. I was just like him. Why couldn't I just ignore her? Why did I have to be so disgusting? Anything would have been better than hitting her. Yet, I couldn't stop myself. What was _wrong_ with me?

Suddenly, it felt like the room was too quiet. I felt lonely. Some sad part of me actually wanted someone, anyone, to come and hug me and tell me that everything was alright. The rest of me felt like I deserved it, and didn't want anyone to see me this way anyway.

My eyes slid over to the piano. It had been a long time since I had practiced. I took a cautious step towards it. Maybe, while I was sitting here alone…I took a seat at the bench and stared at the keys for a moment. The familiar keys of classic black and white brought me a slight bit of comfort.

It was a nice piano. I wondered how well I could remember the last piece that I played. It wasn't too difficult, I'd memorized it, and I'd practiced it until I didn't even realize when I was playing it most of the time. Two years was a long time though.

I wiped my tears and set my fingers on the keys. They were cool –I breathed a sigh of relief. I practiced my scales and chord progressions to warm up, and since my hands seemed to remember what to do I started playing the piece. It was upbeat, and fairly simple, and I made it through the song with only a few hitches. I played it again, but halfway through it the upbeat pleasant melody started to grate on my upset, depressed mood. It was too happy.

As if of their own accord my hands shifted into another key. A sad somber music filled the air. I wished I could stop to write down what I was playing for later, but it was almost like the piano was playing me. There seemed to be no way to stop it. The tears began again, and it felt like my whole body was ignoring everything that I was telling it to do.

I was whimpering slightly along with my tears, though at first I hadn't noticed it. I tried to stop –but again my body wouldn't listen to my brain. A scratch began in the back of my throat, but slowly became a sharp ache. It hurt to swallow back my tears.

My hands yanked away, grabbing my face as I sobbed into them –hoping somewhere in the back of my mind that everyone had left campus for home and that nobody heard me. I felt like I was breaking all over again. Why couldn't I stop this nonsense?

What was _wrong_ with me?

**REVIEWS!**


	18. Fighting Words

**Hey guys, I'm back. I guess I should explain why I was being so depressing in the last A/N…I was having a very difficult time with life in general. My grades were going down the toilet, and that was stressing me out. My major issue though, was that a very close friend of mine (and his brother) passed away in a really bad car accident. I knew this guy for 8 years and it was really a devastating sort of shock. I'm doing a better now. I mean, nothing can ever replace him and the place he holds in my heart, but I am healing and trying to move on. **

**SO, enough with my sad life. Moving on. **

**Disclaimer. I don't own the books, nor do I own Iggy (unfortunately). –he's not even in this chapter :'(**

"Max?" A muffled voice called through the door. I straightened at my place in front of the piano and frantically swiped at my tears.

The door creaked open, and in stepped a cautious Fang. His eyes scanned the room for a moment, a hidden curiosity in them, before he spotted me. His eyes met my eyes and I immediately knew that he knew that I'd been crying.

"Max." He said my name like a tired sigh and I bowed my head in momentary shame. "Why are you crying?" He sounded more like a father scolding a young child that someone that was supposed to be my best friend that just found me crying. A pang of annoyance bubbled up through my shame.

Couldn't a girl cry in peace anymore? And who did he think he was, acting like he had the authority to deem the appropriateness of my tears? If he didn't care, then he shouldn't ask! I had no way to articulate these thoughts without words, so I simply shook my head 'no'.

"I don't know what you're trying to say, Max." I shook my head 'no' again. "Why won't you just _talk_ to me?" He practically screamed.

My mouth dropped open and I gaped at him in shock. This was why he was so mad at me? He was supposed to be the one to understand me. He was supposed to be the only one I could count on. He was the one that I thought could be patient for me. He was supposed to be the only one that cared about whether or not I was actually comfortable enough to finally speak.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." Fang started softly, seeing the shocked look on my face. "I just…it's just…I _miss_ you, Max. I miss the sound of your voice, and your annoying-but-clever sarcastic remarks. I probably miss your voice more than anyone else, because I know how much there is to miss. I miss the way you used to hum all the time, and how you used to argue with anyone –everyone! Max, I miss how you used to stand up for yourself. You never used to take crap from anyone. What happened to my best friend? Where did she go? Why did she retreat so far into herself that not even I could pull her back out? I thought we would always be on the same page, but lately, I'm just wondering where you are."

I blinked at the length of his speech before the enormity of what he had just said hit me like a ton of bricks. For just a second, I felt the pangs of my heart breaking before anger boiled up inside me again. I tried to think of something to show him how much his words hurt me. How alienated I suddenly felt. I thought I could count on him.

Where was I? What happened to me?

Where was I? Where was he for an entire year of me living in misery? His mom said he knew that something was wrong, if he thought that then why hadn't he done something sooner? I opened my mouth –ready to tell him exactly what I thought. No words came out.

I tried to make myself speak, but I was too angry to even think of words let alone voice them. I searched the room and spotted what I needed. I shoved past Fang and stalked across the room in about four steps.

I furiously grabbed a broken piece of chalk. I was so mad –I still couldn't think of something clever to write. I stared at the board blankly for a moment before finally scribbling two words and walking out of the room. I left without another glance at Fang. I didn't even try to see his face as I left him standing there, staring at the angry words I'd written –the first words I'd 'said' in two years.

"Screw you."

**So, there you have it. Things are really heating up. This was all actually 3 pages on word, but it looks so short on here.  
**

**Also, I don't know if anyone noticed but I never actually had them play whatever game Max chose in gym. I kept trying to work it in, but it just wasn't going to happen, so I just skipped over it. I'm sorry if it bothers anyone. If you really wanted to know, just let me know and I might include a little one-shot at the end. Who knows?**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I didn't have her talk, but I feel like writing it down was still pretty close. **

**Review :)**

**~YourMoosyFate**


	19. Making Up

**Uh…so, I'm back? I don't even know if anyone is still reading this or willing to put up with my incredibly spaced out, glacially slow updates. BUT, if you are, I promise that I still plan on finishing this story. **

**Disclaimer. I still don't own Iggy :/ …or the books yada-yada-yada**

I practically ran back towards Fang's house and sucked back my tears as I tried to forget what had happened. I already felt a little guilty. Fang didn't usually pour his heart out in that way…or at all really, and he was just trying to understand where I was at. He had been trying to understand, not push me away. I realized that as the heavy choir door shut behind me, but being my stubborn self, I refused to turn around.

I wiped away a stray tear and stopped mid-sprint, skidding to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk. I'd already been getting strange looks as the running crying girl, so I didn't mind the annoyed ones I got from the man that swerved to avoid walking into me. I looked around myself, realizing that I hadn't been paying any attention to where I'd been running for the past few blocks.

I'd gone too far. I sighed and turned back towards our street.

I squirmed as I remembered Fang's words, "I _miss_ you, Max." He had sounded so sincere. I wondered how difficult it had been for him to admit that. I never thought that I had changed so much that Fang would say something like that.

I thought of my fear of speaking, my fear of everything, and realized that maybe Fang was right about me. Maybe I had changed.

"Max!" I turned to see Camy running towards me. "Max, there you are! Fang told us that you bolted after school, and when you weren't at home, we were all a little worried about you! Fang seemed really upset when we couldn't find you." Fang turned the corner and stopped next to her, trying to meet my eyes, but I couldn't seem to face him. I studied my shoe, pretending that I couldn't feel my face turning red.

"Thanks Camy, I think I'll take it from here. We'll meet you back at the house." Fang didn't sound angry, in fact he sounded kind of…tender, but I suddenly found myself dreading the idea of being alone with him.

"Okay," Camy said, her voice full of skepticism. She knew there was something that he wasn't telling her, but she seemed to decide that it wasn't her business, and turned on her heel to walk home.

A few moments passed and Fang took a cautious step forward. The tension between us was electric. I tried to figure out why I was suddenly so nervous. I wasn't mad at him anymore, and I was willing to admit that I was wrong, but I suddenly felt like my stomach was doing flips again. He took another step forward, standing so close that I could feel his breath on my face as he looked down at me.

"Max." Fang's voice sounded gentle, but couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes. "Max, I'm sorry."

I tried to think of how to tell him that I was sorry too. That I was wrong. That I wanted to talk but I didn't know how. That I was scared, but that he was the only person that I knew was safe. That I didn't mean what I wrote on that chalkboard. That he was right about me, I had changed. I wanted to tell him, but I didn't know how. Instead, I found myself staring at his shoe while I nodded like an idiot.

"Max." He said my name in almost a whisper, as I continued to stare at his shoes. Suddenly I was in motion, his arms looped behind me, pulling me into him and wrapping me in a tight hug. I hugged him back, wishing that I knew what to say. Wishing that I could find my voice. We stood there for a few more seconds, me nodding into Fang's shoulder while he held my world together again. "Let's go home, okay?"

He let me go and we walked home in silence.

**Okay, so I know it's a tad short, and a little bit mushy, but I couldn't bring myself to draw out their fight for too long. So, anyway, for those of you that were worrying that I was dead, I'm not. I just sort of stopped writing…anything. I didn't work on anything original. It was like the biggest block of my life. I didn't even want to write :( I don't know what was wrong with me, but I think I might be back! I can't promise anything, because I work and have school, and am possibly picking up a second job, but I'm going to try to stop neglecting this story until I finish it.**

**To those of you that have been waiting, I am sorry. Truly, I am. It's not fair of me to let you wait a year between chapters.**


	20. Scaredy-Cat-Max

**Not a year this time right? I'm trying I promise! **

**I really hope that you guys like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer. Obviously this is not the Maximum Ride series, as I'm on a fansite. I still wish I owned Iggy though.**

Things had been a bit awkward after our walk home. Fang seemed to sense it, really the whole house seemed to sense that I was off, though I really wanted to know how considering I had ceased to verbally communicate. We ate dinner in silence, with Camy shooting curious glances at Fang and me. I wished she would stop.

I refused to make eye contact with Fang, though I worried that he would think that I was still mad at him. I was far from mad at him. I wanted to ask him for his forgiveness, rather than make him think that I was still upset. He had been honest with me, and I had shoved him away with all possible force. I could feel his eyes boring into me, so I stared at my mashed potatoes as though I could make them levitate through my sheer force of will.

I had to fix this.

"Max, are you all right?" Fang's mom asked me, her eyebrows drawn together with worry. I glanced up to see matching faces on everyone else at the table, and realized that I was the only one with food still on my plate and I hadn't even taken a bite yet.

I felt a blush rise to my cheeks as I nodded. I took a bite of my mashed potatoes and began to carry my plate to the sink. I wasn't that hungry anyway. Though I knew it might worry everyone more, I had to get out of this kitchen. I couldn't sit here any longer with those worried eyes all on me. I took the stairs two at a time and locked the door to my bedroom immediately.

I knew they would come to check on me, so I put on some music. I needed to think about a few things, and I didn't want to be interrupted. I fell across my bed and began to deliberate, ignoring the knocks at my door until they went away.

Fang was right. I had changed, and although I didn't like who I had become, I didn't know how to change back. I hated this new Max. This girl that cried at the drop of a hat, trembled in the face of danger, and refused to search for her courage.

Fang was right. It was time for me to change back.

So, as the evening wore on, I tried to decide what that would look like. How can a person change overnight? What could I do that was different? That could bring me back to myself? A person can become tired of jumping at their own shadow.

It had to be big. It had to be something that showed Fang that not only was I sorry, but I was trying. I had to show him that I could be me. So I agonized over his speech from the choir room, and I wondered how I could make my actions the most meaningful.

I thought about this new me, what had changed the most. Not just in becoming scaredy-cat-Max, but also in what had forced her to stick around. Even now, with four safe walls and temporary freedom, scaredy-cat-Max didn't seem ready to leave. What was keeping her here?

I thought of those years in darkness, in the shadow of Walters amusements. How I had secretly wished that someone would come for us. That someone would be the hero, and rescue not only my sisters, but me. I had prayed for rescue, though I didn't know if I even believed in a God anymore. And since my prayers were secret, I'll admit that I prayed for Fang. I thought about the despair after a few months when I had realized that Fang wasn't planning on coming for me.

That had been the worst –thinking that no one would ever save me, that I could never be normal again. That's when scaredy-cat-Max had taken over my body. She believed that she could handle this new despair. She could endure what I could not. She could cope with the fear that rescue would never come.

Except, rescue had come.

Fang came for me in that place. He risked his life to drag me out of the darkness. In those moments, when I realized what had happened, I had felt hope. I had fallen to the ground in relief when we entered the safety of Fang's house, because I had felt hope. That's when scaredy-cat-Max had decided that she wanted to stay, when I realized that I was terrified of hope.

I was done.

Scaredy-cat-Max needed to go. I wanted my body back, and I only knew one way to take it.

Which is how I decided that tomorrow, like or not, I was going to find my voice.

I was going to talk to Fang.

**-YourMoosyFate**


	21. Decisions

**Okay guys, here ya go! I've kept you waiting for way too long between chapters and now you get two in two days. I hope you feel extra super special! And I am sorry for being so slow! **

**Anyways, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter very much! ;)**

**Disclaimer. **

Based on my behavior for the day, Fang probably thought that I was on drugs. Or that I had finally lost my mind and it was time for me to be committed. He hadn't said as much, but the slight crease between his eyebrows told me all I needed to know. Not that I would blame him. I was acting completely insane.

After my sweeping decision to talk to Fang last night, I had decided that I would stop at nothing short of doing exactly that. My biggest worry was timing. I didn't think I was ready to jump completely back into talkative, sassy, sarcastic me just yet. I needed to move slowly –to take baby steps. So I wanted my first words to be to Fang, to be special, and I wanted them to be perfect.

I woke up determined, though I'd barely slept all night with the giant knot of nerves bouncing around my stomach. I dressed quickly and made my way to Fang's room, knocked lightly on the door and waited for what seemed like eternity. As I began to wonder whether I'd actually knocked or if I'd merely confused the deafening sound of my heart beating as the sound of my knuckles on his door, it finally cracked open.

Fang had just woken up. I could tell by the fact that he was in his boxers and his hair was sticking out at every possible angle. He drowsily realized that this wasn't a dream and his eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter. He tried to play it cool, but I knew him well enough to know that he was embarrassed.

"One second," he murmured, closing the door on my face. I could hear him moving stuff around and throwing on clothes, and resisted the urge to sprint down the hallway and into my room to hide underneath my covers.

"So what's up?" He asked, opening the door and letting me into his room. I could tell he'd thrown all of his dirty clothes in the closet that was barely cracked open, but I pretended not to notice.

I glanced up at him, ready to give my speech, and froze. His hair was still a little messed up, and he seemed a bit more flushed than normal, but otherwise he seemed open to trying to figure out what I needed. I met his dark eyes for a second.

"Max, you barely ate last night. Are you still upset that we fought? I said that I'm sorry." His eyes were full of concern for me. My back was to his window, which meant that the sun was on his face as he looked at me, and I tried to keep my breathing normal. It seemed impossible, but suddenly, my nerves doubled. Something about the way that he was looking at me, trying to understand, with the sun reflecting off of those eyes was making my stomach do funny things.

I opened my mouth for a moment, I could do this.

"I am sorry." He said again, taking a step towards me. He seemed really close to me. Uncomfortably close, and I couldn't understand why he would need to take another step forward. That questioning look was in his eyes again. The one that I desperately wanted to answer, even though I wasn't even sure what it was asking of me.

I opened my mouth again, ready to answer those eyes…and fled the room.

"Max?" He called after me, but I didn't know what to do, so I grabbed my backpack and ran downstairs for breakfast. This could wait until I'd caught my breath again.

When Fang joined everyone for breakfast he gave me the same questioning look, puzzled over my strange behavior, but didn't say anything about it. He seemed willing to respect whatever weirdo actions I inflicted on him, and ate his cereal in silence. While we ate, I regrouped.

We reached school early, and I decided to try again after everyone split off for homeroom. I stopped him outside school by grabbing his arm. He sent our siblings ahead, and waited patiently for me to try and communicate, though I doubted he knew to what extent I was attempting.

"Maybe we should try a sign language class or something?" He suggested mildly. "I mean, I know that this is all psychological and stuff, but maybe it would be easier on you if you had a way to communicate somehow."

He was trying to help, I knew, but I didn't have a way to explain that it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to speak. I wanted to be myself again, and I wanted Fang to be a part of it. He misread the frustrated look on my face.

"That wasn't me trying to reignite our fight from yesterday or anything." He said in a rush, and I realized for the first time that he seemed a bit flustered. For Fang, he seemed outright nervous that I would still be mad at him. I thought again of the words I wrote on that chalk board, and realized how much I had hurt him.

I shook my head, wishing that the beautiful words I'd been silently rehearsing would come back. I drew a blank again, and wanted to hit something. Why was this so freaking hard?! I'd made my decision and it was going to happen. Today!

…but not at that moment. I found myself fleeing the scene again and ran to the bathroom for cover. This was definitely not going as I had planned.

The rest of the day seemed to go much in the same fashion. I would get Fang alone, stare at him helplessly for a minute, and then run away like a frightened rabbit. He tried to help me as much as possible. Correctly guessing that I wanted to apologize back, to which I nodded, and then trying to figure out what I wanted without seeming too awfully frustrated.

The crease between his eyebrows was getting deeper. At lunch, Iggy even asked him what was wrong.

I on the other hand was getting more and more angry with myself. I'd talked my whole life long before all of this crazy stuff started. I knew how. It wasn't so hard before, and I couldn't figure out what was holding me back. I'd made my decision, I wanted to talk. So what was the problem? Maybe if Fang had me committed they could figure out why I was so crazy and fix me.

When I finished my dinner and I still hadn't said anything, I wanted to cry. I washed my dishes in the sink and made my way to the swing in the backyard. I needed to regroup. Again.

Maybe if I practiced in my room all night, with no one around to hear me I wouldn't ever have to tell Fang that he wasn't a part of it. He would just assume that he was, and I could keep it a secret. But even as I thought about it, I knew it couldn't happen that way. I could never lie to Fang about something like that. Besides, I wanted him to be a part of it. He'd always been my best friend, doing what was best for me even when I didn't like it (like telling me that it was time for me to start fighting back).

"You seem to have a lot on your mind today." I hadn't heard him come up behind me, but it figured that he would follow me after all of my whacko behavior. "I wish that I could crawl in there with you and help you sort things out." He offered, leaning against the tree next to my swing.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He watched the sky, the crease between his eyebrows deeper than I'd ever seen it.

"Will you laugh at me if I open up to you for a second?" He asked suddenly, and I shook my head surprised by his question. He waited for a minute, struggling with whatever he was about to say.

"I feel responsible for you. Wait, that came out wrong," he corrected while I tried to keep the shock and confusion from my face. "I feel responsible for your pain…or I mean…I feel like all of this mess is my fault. I almost crossed that street a thousand times, but I didn't. Max, I don't know if you could –if _I_ could ever forgive me for that. I used to sit up and wonder how you could leave without saying goodbye, though some part of me knew that you could never do that. So when I decided that you were still in there, I would lay in bed and imagine how I could rescue you.

"And I know that sounds kind of cheesy, and hallmark-y, but I did. I would think through a billion scenarios about how I would storm in and save you. I felt like something was _wrong_, Max. I –I _knew_ that something was wrong." He stopped for a moment, trying to keep his cool. He'd been too caught up in what he was saying to keep his voice from breaking. "I knew something was wrong, and I waited. I waited to come back for you. And I just…I'm sorry."

He stared at the ground, processing through some unknown memory and I realized suddenly that I was standing, though I didn't remember getting up. He turned his face away from me for a moment, trying to regain his composure. Fang wasn't the type to get caught up in his feelings. That moment, of him turning his face to regain himself broke me.

"But you did save me." It came out almost a whisper, my voice scratchy from disuse and emotions. I tried not to let the pure, unguarded shock on his face keep me from finishing. "Fang, you are the best friend I have ever-" It took me two full seconds to realize that he was kissing me. Another four to realize that I was kissing him back. And then one more to push myself away from him in shock.

His face was alight when I first pulled away, his eyes were dancing. Until he realized what just happened, and the heaviest silence I had ever felt fell over the two of us.

"Uh –I uh –I'm sorry." He mumbled before turning on his heal and running back into the house.

I put my hand to my lips and stared after him.

**TA-DA! So, she finally did it! She SPOKE! And there was a little FAX thrown in there. I hope you guys liked it! **

**This is not the end, though there isn't too much left to be sorted out. She's taking baby steps, and Fang was run away with his emotions. We shall see!**

**-YourMoosyFate**


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